Dr. Tarantino on the Impact of the DESTINY-Breast04 Trial in HER2-Low Breast Cancer

Paolo Tarantino, MD, researcher, the European Institute of Oncology, clinical research fellow, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the impact of the phase 3 DESTINY-Breast04 trial (NCT03734029) in the treatment of HER2-low breast cancer.

The study compared fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (Enhertu) to a physician’s choice of chemotherapy in patients with HER2-low breast cancer that has been previously treated.

This trial affected treatment decisions for patients with HER2-low breast cancer, who represent a sizeable portion of the breast cancer population, Tarantino says. Data from DESTINY-Breast04 presented at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting demonstrated a benefit in overall response rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival for trastuzumab deruxtecan compared with chemotherapy.

Despite the advances made in HER2-low breast cancer, questions remain in this field, including if trastuzumab deruxtecan can elicit a benefit in patients with HER2-zero breast cancer, Tarantino explains. The phase 3 DESTINY-Breast06 trial (NCT04494425) will help investigators answer more questions about the utility of trastuzumab deruxtecan, Tarantino concludes.