Dr. Sanft on HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

Tara Sanft, MD, assistant professor of medicine, medical director of adult survivorship for the Yale Cancer Center Survivorship Clinic, discuses advancements in HER2-positive breast cancer.

About 30% of breast cancer patients have HER2 overexpression or amplification. One of the biggest advancements in this field over the last decade was the introduction of the HER2-targeted treatment pertuzumab, says Sanft.

Pertuzumab plus trastuzumab and chemotherapy is better than trastuzumab and chemotherapy alone. Patients that have received pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and chemotherapy prior to surgery have a higher chance of achieving a pathological complete response (pCR). Patients that have a pCR have a greater chance of recovery, says Sanft.