Dr. Isaacs on the Evolving Treatment Landscape in HER2+ Breast Cancer

Claudine Isaacs, MD, professor, medical director, Fisher Center for Familial Cancer Research, co-director, Breast Cancer Program, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University, discusses the rapidly evolving HER2-positive breast cancer armamentarium.

In recent years, significant advances ​have been made across breast cancer subtypes, says Isaacs. ​The field of HER2-positive breast cancer, in particular, has gained a number of regulatory approvals.

For example, the ​phase 2 HER2CLIMB trial randomized patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who were previously treated with trastuzumab (Herceptin), pertuzumab (Perjeta), and ​ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1; Kadcyla) to receive tucatinib (Tukysa) or placebo, in combination with trastuzumab and capecitabine.

Data from HER2CLIMB showed prolong​ed progression-free survival ​and overall survival ​with the tucatinib-based regimen versus placebo, says Isaacs.

​These findings led to the April 2020 approval of tucatinib ​in combination with trastuzumab/capecitabine for the treatment of patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, Isaacs concludes.