A drug that stops metastatic breast cancer demonstrates its effectiveness in the early stages

Revolutionary medicine trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), and antibody with chemotherapy, which releases the drug into the cancer cell and is considered by some oncologists to be the most active drug against cancer. breast cancer To date, it has proven useful in new stages of the disease. The DESTINY-6 trial showed that the so-called “Trojan horse” is more dangerous. effective What chemotherapy usually in patients with hormonal breast cancer in the state metastaticespecially those with hormone receptor positive (RH+) and low HER2 protein levels who have previously been treated with endocrine therapy but not chemotherapy.

The study was conducted by the Val d’Hebron Hospital Institute of Oncology (VHIO) and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a scientific journal that publishes research that can change clinical practice. In fact, results from the previous DESTINY-04 trial, which were presented at the American Society of Medical Oncology (ASCO) meeting, led to the use of the drug in both the US and Europe in HR+ patients. metastatic breast cancer with low HER2 expression who received chemotherapy. On September 26, the inclusion of this type of patient in the Spanish portfolio of services was approved.

“Following these results, we thought that more patients could benefit from targeted treatments earlier in treatment, so in the DESTINIY-06 trial we wanted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of T-DXd compared to chemotherapy in patients with HR+ cancer. metastatic breast cancer with low or ultra-low HER2 levels who have received one or more endocrine therapies, but without chemotherapy previousin the context of metastatic disease,” explains Dr. Cristina Saura, Head of the Val d’Hebron Breast Cancer Unit, Head of the Breast Cancer Group at the Val d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) and co-author of the study.

Median survival free progressthe time from the start of treatment to tumor regrowth was 13.2 months in the new drug group compared to 8.1 months with chemotherapy

And the result confirms that it is more effective. In fact, the study included 866 patients, and patients treated with trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) experienced a 38% reduction in the risk of progression compared to patients treated with traditional chemotherapy. Moreover, median survival free progressthat is, the time that passes from the start of treatment to tumor regrowth was 13.2 months in the conjugated antibody group compared to 8.1 months in the others.

Therapeutic benefit

“These results are particularly relevant as they suggest that T-DXd treatment targeting the HER2 protein, even at very low levels, may represent therapeutic advantage over chemotherapy traditional for such patients, number expansion people who could benefit from earliest stages treatment of metastatic breast cancer,” adds Saura.

The revolutionary treatment is also being studied in patients with early breast cancer to see if it is more effective than traditional treatments.

Breast cancer, whose World Day is celebrated on October 19, is the most common cancer in the world. It is estimated that in Spain this year more 36,000 new cases and approximately 70% are RH+ HER2-. “However, we know tumors better and have seen that among breast tumors classified as HER2-negative, there is a spectrum of expression of this protein that is considered low or extra lowwhich could benefit from already approved drugs that give good results in HER2+ tumors.”

Initial states

In fact, the use of T-DXd instead of chemotherapy for hormonal cancers and low HER2 levels may be translated into clinical practice given the results of DESTINY-6, and its effectiveness is also being tested in initial states and non-metastatic disease. “We are testing this and other immunoconjugates in localized breast cancer to see if they reduce the effects of chemotherapy and optimize its effectiveness, and I am confident that in the future they will be able to provide more than what we have now,” explains Dr. Javier Cortez. ., Director of the International Breast Cancer Center (IBCC) and recognized as the world’s number 1 researcher in the field of HER2+ breast cancer.