Dr. Tolaney on the Evolution of Adjuvant Treatment for HER2+ Breast Cancer

Sara M. Tolaney, MD, MPH, instructor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, attending physician of medical oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the evolution of adjuvant treatment for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.

There have been outcomes from 6 pivotal studies demonstrating that adding trastuzumab (Herceptin) to chemotherapy dramatically improves disease-free and overall survival. Despite this, 15% of patients with HER2-positive disease still recur, says Tolaney.

Results from the CLEOPATRA study suggested that adding pertuzumab (Perjeta) to trastuzumab dramatically improved survival by 16 months. The NeoSphere, TRYPHAENA, and APHINITY studies were also positive for the combination, and led to the FDA approval of the regimen.