Emerging Data for HER2 ADCs in Ovarian Cancer

Dr. Ritu Salani discusses the impact of HER2-directed antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) in gynecologic oncology, focusing on the DESTINY-PanTumor02 trial and its implications for ovarian cancer.

The DESTINY-PanTumor02 trial enrolled patients with HER2 expression (3+ and some 2+) who were in the second-line setting or beyond. For ovarian cancer, platinum and taxane-based chemotherapy, along with PARP inhibitors and bevacizumab, are highly effective in the front-line setting, with response rates over 80% in advanced stages. However, recurrence rates remain high at 80%.

Previous studies of trastuzumab in ovarian cancer showed extremely low response rates, and HER2-targeted therapy never gained much attention in this space. The DESTINY-PanTumor02 trial reported an overall response rate of 45% in ovarian cancer patients with HER2 expression, which is a significant improvement compared to the 20% response rate typically seen in platinum-resistant disease. Patients with IHC 3+ expression had an even higher response rate of 63-64%.

At the 14-month follow-up presented at ASCO, the trial reported a median progression-free survival of 12 months, which is more impressive than any other treatment to date. Dr. Salani emphasizes the need to understand the details of these patients' chemo-responsiveness, which will be important once the manuscript is fully vetted.

These results have piqued interest in the gynecologic oncology community, and Dr. Salani believes that this approach definitely warrants further exploration, particularly for patients with 3+ HER2 expression.

Summary generated by Claude AI.