COMPARISON BETWEEN CHEMOTHERAPY AND THE USE OF RIBOCICLIB IN COMBINATION WITH HORMONE THERAPY IN THE TREATMENT OF BREAST CANCER

Abstract

This integrative literature review evaluated the available evidence on the efficacy of ribociclib combined with hormone therapy, compared to conventional chemotherapy, in progression-free survival in women with advanced or metastatic breast cancer. The guiding question was structured based on the PICO strategy, encompassing adult and elderly women with advanced or metastatic breast cancer, the use of ribociclib combined with hormone therapy, conventional chemotherapy as a comparator, and progression-free survival as the primary outcome. Searches were conducted in the PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and SciELO databases using the descriptors “Breast cancer”, “Ribociclib”, “Hormone therapy” and “Chemotherapy”. Studies published between 2021 and January of 2026, available in full text, in Portuguese, English, or Spanish, addressing breast cancer in adults or elderly women, in advanced or metastatic stages, in Brazil or abroad, including clinical trials, observational studies, and official technical reports, were included. Studies that did not directly address breast cancer, chemotherapy and/or ribociclib treatments, research involving early-stage breast cancer or breast cancer in young women, duplicate articles, letters to the editor, simple abstracts, editorials, opinions or comments without a defined methodology, reviews of any kind, and publications without full-text access were excluded. Initially, 474 studies were identified in the four databases. Before screening, 67 studies were removed, 2 were excluded by automated tools due to ineligibility, 6 were duplicates, and 59 were withdrawn for other reasons. Thus, 407 studies were submitted for screening. The findings indicated that ribociclib associated with hormone therapy presents a relevant clinical benefit in controlling disease progression, especially in patients eligible for endocrine therapy, and may represent an important therapeutic alternative to conventional chemotherapy. It was concluded that ribociclib combined with hormone therapy constitutes a promising strategy in the treatment of advanced or metastatic breast cancer, and its indication should consider the tumor subtype, the patient's clinical conditions, eligibility criteria, and access to treatment.