Among patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer who have residual disease after neoadjuvant therapy and surgery, the use of trastuzumab emtansine instead of trastuzumab leads to significant improvements in invasive disease-free survival, indicate KATHERINE trial findings.

The GATSBY trial finds no significant difference in outcomes between patients with advanced human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive gastric cancer given second-line trastuzumab emtansine and those given a taxane.

Patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer that is refractory or resistant to trastuzumab emtansine have significantly better outcomes with trastuzumab deruxtecan than a physician’s choice treatment, shows the phase 3 DESTINY-Breast02 trial.

Almost two-thirds of patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer have a pathologic complete response to neoadjuvant treatment with pertuzumab, atezolizumab, docetaxel, and trastuzumab, phase 2 study data show.

The guideline makes no change to the first-line treatment option of trastuzumab, pertuzumab, plus a taxane, but recommends trastuzumab deruxtecan as a new second-line option and several new options in the third and later line, including regimens with tucatinib, trastuzumab emtansine, margetuximab, and abemaciclib plus trastuzumab and fulvestrant.

The regular approval follows the results of the phase 3 DESTINY-Breast03 trial showing a significant 72% reduction in the risk for progression or death with trastuzumab deruxtecan versus trastuzumab emtansine in previously treated patients.

The antibody–drug conjugate trastuzumab deruxtecan induces a high intracranial response rate among women with HER2-positive breast cancer and active brain metastases, TUXEDO-1 study findings indicate.

Previously treated patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer derive a significant progression-free survival benefit from trastuzumab deruxtecan relative to trastuzumab emtansine, find the DESTINY-Breast03 investigators.

The addition of tucatinib to trastuzumab plus capecitabine continues to confer an overall survival benefit in advanced HER2-positive breast cancer over longer follow-up, show phase 2 data.

Neoadjuvant treatment with trastuzumab emtansine is associated with similar pathologic complete response rates as the combination of docetaxel, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, study findings indicate.

Women receiving first-line pertuzumab or second-line trastuzumab emtansine for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer have lower than expected survival times in clinical practice when compared with pivotal trials, researchers report.

Previously treated patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer derive a significant progression-free survival benefit from the novel HER2-targeted antibody–drug conjugate trastuzumab duocarmazine relative to standard treatment, shows the TULIP trial.

Methods All ADR reports having as suspected drug trastuzumab, pertuzumab, lapatinib, or trastuzumab emtansine (TDM-1), recorded into the Report Reazioni Avverse dei Medicinali (RAM) system database for national data and into the Italian SRS database for Sicilian data and collected from 2006 to 2020 have been evaluated.

“This trial demonstrates a small but statistically significant PFS benefit of margetuximab plus chemotherapy over trastuzumab plus chemotherapy in patients with [HER2]-positive [advanced breast cancer] who progressed after treatment with trastuzumab, pertuzumab, and ado-trastuzumab emtansine,” they write.

Adjuvant treatment with trastuzumab emtansine does not improve outcome or reduce toxicity relative to that with a taxane plus trastuzumab in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer, results of the phase 3 KAITLIN study show.

Exploratory analyses from the KAMILLA trial indicate that trastuzumab emtansine may be a feasible option for HER2-positive breast cancer patients who have brain metastases.

The addition of capecitabine to trastuzumab emtansine does not improve the clinical outcomes of patients with previously treated HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, indicates the phase 1/2 TRAXHER2 study.

ADAPT-TP trial findings previously indicated that patients given neoadjuvant trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) alone or alongside endocrine therapy (ET) were significantly more likely to achieve pCR than those given trastuzumab plus ET, at 41.0%, 41.5%, and 15.1 %, respectively, explained Nadia Harbeck (Ludwig Maximilians University Hospital-Grosshadern, Munich, Germany).

The decision is based on results of the HER2CLIMB trial  which demonstrated a progression-free survival benefit with the addition of tucatinib to trastuzumab and capecitabine after prior treatment with trastuzumab, pertuzumab, or ado-trastuzumab emtansine, including among patients with brain metastases.