Dr. Pegram on Pertuzumab Combination for HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

Mark D. Pegram, MD, director of the Breast Cancer Oncology Program at Stanford Medicine, discusses pertuzumab (Perjeta) plus trastuzumab (Herceptin) and chemotherapy for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.

Based on level 1 evidence, there is good data to support the use of pertuzumab in combination with trastuzumab and chemotherapy in the first-line setting. That’s usually followed by ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1; Kadcyla) in the second-line setting, based on the pivotal EMILIA trial, explains Pegram.

Although EMILIA was not conducted in the pertuzumab metastatic breast cancer era, it is still assumed that T-DM1 will retain activity, states Pegram.