Oncotarget
HER2-Low Breast Cancer: A New Understanding
Episode guests
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- HER2-low breast cancer represents a new treatment category, requiring clinicians to adjust their strategies and consider novel therapeutic options like antibody drug conjugates.
- The variability in HER2 expression necessitates ongoing reassessment of patients' HER2 status, highlighting the complexity of classifying breast cancer accurately.
Deep dives
Understanding HER2-Low Breast Cancer
HER2-low breast cancer involves tumors that exhibit some HER2 protein expression but do not meet the criteria for HER2-positive status, specifically having an immunohistochemistry score of 1-plus or 2-plus without gene amplification. Historically, these tumors were treated similarly to HER2-negative cases, focusing primarily on hormone therapy or chemotherapy. The advent of antibody drug conjugates, notably TDXD, has transformed treatment options by showing efficacy in HER2-low tumors, as evidenced by the DESTINY Breast 4 trial, which demonstrated significant survival improvements compared to standard chemotherapy. This shift highlights the need to redefine treatment paradigms based on HER2 status rather than relying solely on the traditional classifications of HER2 positivity or negativity.
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