HER2 Breast Cancer

Although HER2 positivity has been identified as a predictive factor of response to chemotherapy, it remains controversial considering that responses to chemotherapy can vary in patients with certain disease characteristics.

Nancy U. Lin, MD, discusses the results from a substudy of HER2CLIMB looking at tucatinib plus trastuzumab and capecitabine in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer and brain metastases.

Delivering evidence-based state-of-the art cancer care in the management of hematologic and solid malignancies is the mainstay of the 38th Annual CFS®: Innovative Cancer Therapy for Tomorrow conference taking place virtually November 4 through 6, 2020.

“Dual targeting of HER2-positive tumors with [trastuzumab] and [lapatinib] is beneficial because of differing mechanisms of action and because of the well-characterized synergistic interaction between them in HER2 [breast cancer] models."

Statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in both progression-free survival and overall survival were observed with the addition of tucatinib to trastuzumab and capecitabine as treatment of patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, irrespective of the presence of brain metastases.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, reviewed the 4 currently approved treatment options for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer and discussed how physicians could use the data to make treatment decisions in the adjuvant and neoadjuvant setting.

Nancy U. Lin, MD, discusses how she would use the HER2CLIMB regimen of tucatinib plus trastuzumab and capecitabine now that it has been approved for treatment of patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer that affects women, with estimates that it will account for 30% of all new cancer diagnoses in women in 2020. As the most commonly overexpressed receptor in breast cancer, HER2 is amplified or overexpressed in about 15% of breast cancers, leading to dysregulated cell proliferation. This article explores the current breast cancer landscape, with a focus on emerging HER2-targeted therapies, and discusses the unmet needs within the treatment landscape.

Sara M. Tolaney, MD, MPH speaks to the testing and treatment advances for women with HER2-positive breast cancer.