CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd 2021; 81(06): 666-678
DOI: 10.1055/a-1471-4063
GebFra Science
Review/Übersicht

New Therapeutic Strategies in Advanced Nonoperable or Metastatic HER2-positive Breast Cancer

Article in several languages: English | deutsch
Diana Lüftner
1   Medizinische Klinik mit Schwerpunkt Hämatologie, Onkologie und Tumorimmunologie, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
,
Matthias Peipp
2   Sektion für Stammzelltransplantation und Immuntherapie, Dr. Mildred-Scheel-Haus, Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
› Author Affiliations

Abstract

Despite therapeutic gains in the treatment of HER2-positive (HER2: human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) advanced/metastatic breast cancer, there remains an urgent need for more effective treatment options. At present, there is no definitive approved standard therapy beyond second-line treatment. One of the major challenges is overcoming treatment resistance. Depending on the underlying resistance mechanism, different strategies are being pursued for new innovative treatment concepts in HER2-positive breast cancer. Specifically designed antibodies for targeted therapy are one important focus to successfully meet these challenges. Trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd, DS-8201a), an optimised antibody drug conjugate (ADC) is in clinical trials, showing promising outcomes in patients with advanced, nonoperable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer who had already undergone intensive prior treatment. Based on this data, T-DXd has already been approved in the US and Japan for HER2-positive advanced nonoperable and metastatic breast cancer – in the US after at least two prior anti-HER2 targeted treatment lines and in Japan after prior chemotherapy. T-DXd represents successful “antibody engineering”. Since the beginning of the year, T-DXd has also been approved in Europe as monotherapy for inoperable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer in patients who are pretreated with at least two anti-HER2 directed therapies. This paper presents strategies for improving treatment options in advanced nonoperable and metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, with the development of T-DXd as an example.



Publication History

Received: 20 December 2020

Accepted: 27 March 2021

Article published online:
21 June 2021

© 2021. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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