Published on: September 18, 2024,
Prof. Giuseppe Curigliano, Director of the Division of New Drugs for Innovative Therapies IEO, is the coordinator of the international study DESTINY-Breast06, destined to change clinical practice in the treatment of metastases of HER2-positive breast tumors, the most common form of breast cancer. The results have just been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the number one medical journal in the world.
Researchers have shown that using the antibody conjugate trastuzumab deruxtecan immediately after hormone therapy improves progression-free survival (the time between treatment and disease recurrence) compared with chemotherapy and reduces the overall risk of progression and mortality.
Antibody conjugates are precision drugs, able to specifically recognize HER2 receptors on tumor cells and release chemotherapy molecules directly to the target. Currently, trastuzumab deruxtecan is already used as a second-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer, after chemotherapy. In the study, researchers wanted to verify the effectiveness of this drug as a first-line treatment, immediately after endocrine therapy, avoiding traditional chemotherapy. The results were extraordinary.
“Our studio changes the way of treat metastatic breast cancer HR+, because by using trastuzumab deruxtecan earlier, we not only obtain a more effective treatment, but we can extend the population of patients who can benefit from it. For patients, it is a turning point because the word “metastasis” itself will be less scary and they will adhere to treatment with more confidence. With the right sequence of therapies, the chronicization of metastatic disease is now an achievable goal” says Prof. Curigliano.
For more information download the press release