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Metastatic HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Is There an Optimal Sequence of Therapy?

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Opinion statement

Approximately 20% of breast cancers overexpress human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2+), conferring a particularly aggressive subtype of the disease with an increased risk for the development of systemic and brain metastases. However, the advent of trastuzumab and more recently several other HER2-targeting novel therapies has led to significant improvements in the prognosis, making the diagnosis a “double-edged sword.” The current standard first-line therapy for patients with HER2+ metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is a taxane combined with trastuzumab and pertuzumab. Trastuzumab deruxtecan should be used preferentially in the second line, with the only caveat being patients with CNS involvement where the tucatinib, capecitabine, and trastuzumab regimen could be considered. In the third line setting, given the survival benefits demonstrated with the tucatinib regimen in patients with and without CNS metastases, this is the preferred strategy. In the fourth line and beyond, there is no clear standard. Options include margetuximab in combination with chemotherapy, neratinib + capecitabine, or trastuzumab + chemotherapy. There are several novel therapies under investigation reporting promising results in the late-line setting. The treatment landscape of HER2-positive advanced disease is evolving constantly, with several active therapies being moved to the early-stage setting. Accordingly, it will be critical to identify biomarkers and mechanisms of resistance to optimize therapy selection and maximize patient outcomes and quality of life. Here, we provide an overview of the current and future management of HER2-positive advanced breast cancer and address the specific scenarios which may impact treatment selection including triple-positive breast cancer and the presence of brain metastases. Finally, we highlight promising novel treatments and ongoing trials that may impact future treatment sequencing.

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  1. Miami Cancer Institute, 8900 Kendall Drive, Miami, FL, USA

    Naomi Dempsey MD, Ana Sandoval MD & Reshma Mahtani DO

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Conflict of Interest

Naomi Dempsey has received compensation from Daiichi Sankyo, Novartis, and Seagen for service as a consultant. Ana Sandoval has received compensation from Merck, Sanofi, Sermonix Pharmaceuticals, Gilead, AstraZeneca, OncoCyte, and Guardant Health for service as a consultant. Reshma Mahtani has received compensation from Agendia, Amgen, Daiichi Sankyo, Eisai, Genentech, Gilead, Hologic, Lilly, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Puma Biotechnology, Sanofi, Seagen, Stemline, and Sermonix Pharmaceuticals, for service as a consultant. She has also received research support (paid to institution) from Gilead.

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Dempsey, N., Sandoval, A. & Mahtani, R. Metastatic HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Is There an Optimal Sequence of Therapy?. Curr. Treat. Options in Oncol. 24, 1120–1137 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11864-023-01108-w

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