Key clinical point: In comparison with standard lapatinib plus capecitabine, the pan-ErbB inhibitor pyrotinib plus capecitabine had manageable toxicity, a significantly higher overall response rate, and significantly longer progression-free survival.

Major finding: Overall response rates, the primary end point, were 78% in the pyrotinib arm and 57.1% in the lapatinib arm (P = .01).

Study details: A randomized phase 2 study including 128 Chinese women with histologically confirmed relapsed or metastatic breast cancer.

Disclosures: The study was sponsored by Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine and supported by the CAMS Initiative for Innovative Medicine and the National Science and Technology Major Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology in China. The corresponding author of this study, Binghe Xu, MD, PHD, of the study reported institutional research funding from Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine and other disclosures related to AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Roche, and Eisai. Two study coauthors reported employment with Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine.