NEJM original articles

Background. Enlicitide decanoate, an oral proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor, was shown to reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in a phase 2 trial; longer-term data are needed.

Methods. In this multinational, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we enrolled adults with a history of a major atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease event with an LDL cholesterol level of 55 mg per deciliter or higher and those who were at risk for a first atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease event with an LDL cholesterol level of 70 mg per deciliter or higher. Participants were assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive enlicitide at a dose of 20 mg or placebo daily for 52 weeks. The primary end point was the mean percent change in LDL cholesterol level from baseline to week 24. Key secondary end points were the mean percent change in LDL cholesterol level at week 52 and the mean percent change in levels of non-high-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) cholesterol and apolipoprotein B and the percent change in lipoprotein(a) level at week 24.

Results. Of the 2909 participants in the intention-to-treat population, 1935 received enlicitide and 969 received placebo (5 did not receive enlicitide or placebo). The mean age of the participants was 63 years, and 39.3% were women. The mean (±SD) LDL cholesterol level at baseline was 96.1±38.9 mg per deciliter. The mean percent change in LDL cholesterol levels at week 24 was -57.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], -61.8 to -52.5) with enlicitide and 3.0% (95% CI, 0.9 to 5.1) with placebo, representing an adjusted between-group difference of -55.8 percentage points (95% CI, -60.9 to -50.7; P<0.001). The mean percent change in LDL cholesterol level at week 52, the mean percent changes in non-HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B levels at week 24, and the percent change in lipoprotein(a) levels at week 24 were significantly greater with enlicitide than with placebo (P<0.001 for all comparisons). The incidence of adverse events did not appear to differ between the groups.

Conclusions. Among participants who had a history of or were at risk for a first atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease event, treatment with the oral PCSK9 inhibitor enlicitide resulted in significantly lower LDL cholesterol levels than placebo at 24 weeks. (Funded by MSD [Rahway, NJ]; CORALreef Lipids ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT05952856.).

Background. The benefit of beta-blockers after myocardial infarction in patients with a preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is unclear.

Methods. We conducted a meta-analysis at the individual-patient level using data from five open-label trials that randomly assigned patients with recent myocardial infarction, no other indications for beta-blocker therapy, and an LVEF of at least 50% to receive beta-blocker therapy or no beta-blocker therapy. The primary end point was a composite of death from any cause, myocardial infarction, or heart failure. Event rates were analyzed with a one-stage fixed-effects Cox proportional-hazards model.

Results. A total of 17,801 patients were included from the REBOOT (7459 patients), REDUCE-AMI (4967 patients), BETAMI (2441 patients), DANBLOCK (2277 patients), and CAPITAL-RCT (657 patients) trials. Of these 17,801 patients, 8831 (49.6%) were assigned to receive a beta-blocker and 8970 (50.4%) were assigned to receive no beta-blocker. During a median follow-up of 3.6 years (interquartile range, 2.3 to 4.6), a primary-end-point event occurred in 717 patients (8.1%) in the beta-blocker group and 748 patients (8.3%) in the no-beta-blocker group (hazard ratio, 0.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.87 to 1.07; P = 0.54). Death from any cause occurred in 335 patients in the beta-blocker group and 326 patients in the no-beta-blocker group (hazard ratio, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.89 to 1.21); myocardial infarction occurred in 360 and 407 patients, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.77 to 1.03); and heart failure occurred in 75 and 87 patients (hazard ratio, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.64 to 1.19).

Conclusions. In this meta-analysis including individual-patient data from five randomized trials, beta-blocker therapy did not reduce the incidence of death from any cause, myocardial infarction, or heart failure in patients with an LVEF of at least 50% after myocardial infarction without other indications for beta-blockers. (Funded by Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III and others; PROSPERO database number, CRD420251119176.).

Background. Trastuzumab deruxtecan has shown efficacy in patients with previously treated human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive advanced or metastatic breast cancer. The efficacy and safety of trastuzumab deruxtecan in patients with no previous therapy for HER2-positive advanced or metastatic breast cancer are unclear.

Methods. We conducted a phase 3 trial involving patients with HER2-positive advanced or metastatic breast cancer and no previous chemotherapy or HER2-directed therapy for metastatic disease. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive trastuzumab deruxtecan plus pertuzumab; trastuzumab deruxtecan plus placebo; or a taxane, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab (THP). The primary end point was progression-free survival as assessed by blinded independent central review. Secondary end points included objective response, duration of response, and safety.

Results. For this prespecified interim analysis, data for trastuzumab deruxtecan plus pertuzumab and for THP are reported; data for trastuzumab deruxtecan plus placebo remain blinded until the final analysis of progression-free survival. At the data-cutoff date (February 26, 2025), the median progression-free survival was 40.7 months with trastuzumab deruxtecan plus pertuzumab (383 patients) and 26.9 months with THP (387 patients) (hazard ratio for progression or death, 0.56; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.44 to 0.71; P<0.00001 [P-value boundary for superiority, 0.00043]). The incidence of a confirmed response was 85.1% with trastuzumab deruxtecan plus pertuzumab and 78.6% with THP (complete responses in 15.1% and 8.5%, respectively), with a median duration of response of 39.2 months and 26.4 months. Safety was consistent with the known profiles of the individual treatments. The incidence of grade 3 or higher adverse events was 63.5% with trastuzumab deruxtecan plus pertuzumab and 62.3% with THP; the most common were neutropenia, hypokalemia, and anemia with trastuzumab deruxtecan plus pertuzumab and neutropenia, leukopenia, and diarrhea with THP. Adjudicated drug-related interstitial lung disease or pneumonitis occurred in 12.1% of patients receiving trastuzumab deruxtecan plus pertuzumab (grade 1 or 2 in 44 patients and grade 5 [death] in 2 patients) and in 1.0% of those receiving THP (all grade 1 or 2).

Conclusions. Trastuzumab deruxtecan plus pertuzumab led to a significantly lower risk of progression or death than THP when used as first-line treatment for HER2-positive advanced or metastatic breast cancer, with no new safety signals. (Funded by AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo; DESTINY-Breast09 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04784715.).

Background. In the phase 3 EMBARK trial, enzalutamide plus leuprolide and enzalutamide monotherapy were associated with longer metastasis-free survival than leuprolide alone among patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer. The final analysis of overall survival has not been reported.

Methods. We randomly assigned patients with prostate cancer who had high-risk biochemical recurrence in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive enzalutamide plus leuprolide (the combination group), leuprolide alone (the leuprolide-alone group), or enzalutamide monotherapy (the monotherapy group). The primary end point was metastasis-free survival, assessed in the combination group as compared with the leuprolide-alone group. Overall survival was an alpha-controlled, key secondary end point. Updated results for prespecified secondary end points, including the time to first use of new antineoplastic therapy and the time to the first symptomatic skeletal event, were summarized descriptively, as was progression-free survival with the first subsequent therapy, an exploratory end point.

Results. The 8-year overall survival was 78.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 73.9 to 83.1) in the combination group and 69.5% (95% CI, 64.0 to 74.3) in the leuprolide-alone group; the hazard ratio for death was 0.60 (95% CI, 0.44 to 0.80; P<0.001). The 8-year overall survival with monotherapy was 73.1% (95% CI, 67.6 to 77.9), which did not differ significantly from that with leuprolide alone (hazard ratio, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.63 to 1.10; P = 0.19). In the descriptive updates for prespecified secondary end points, results were similar to those previously reported. Safety findings were consistent with those in the primary analysis of metastasis-free survival.

Conclusions. Overall survival was significantly longer with the combination of enzalutamide and leuprolide than with leuprolide alone among patients with prostate cancer with high-risk biochemical recurrence. Enzalutamide monotherapy was not superior to leuprolide alone in the analysis of overall survival. (Funded by Pfizer and Astellas Pharma; EMBARK ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02319837.).