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Chemo Avoided in HER2+ Breast Cancer Trials
8 May
Summary
- Early breast cancer patients can safely forgo chemotherapy.
- Nearly 90% of patients remained recurrence-free after five years.
- Liquid biopsy aids in identifying patients for better prognosis.
MEDSIR has presented findings from the PHERGain and PHERGain-2 trials, focusing on targeted therapies for early HER2-positive breast cancer. These international Phase II trials explored de-escalation strategies to allow select patients to avoid conventional chemotherapy, thereby reducing treatment toxicity.
The PHERGain trial, involving 356 patients across seven European countries, demonstrated that a combination of trastuzumab and pertuzumab enabled about 30% of participants to omit chemotherapy. Crucially, nearly 90% of these patients remained disease-free five years after surgery. A translational analysis also highlighted circulating tumour DNA measurement via liquid biopsy as a precise, non-invasive method for predicting long-term outcomes.
Concurrently, the PHERGain-2 trial evaluated a chemotherapy-free approach for 396 low-risk patients. This study focused on trastuzumab, pertuzumab, and T-DM1, with quality of life as a primary safety objective. Over half of the patients maintained satisfactory quality of life in the first year, indicating reduced long-term adverse effects. The observed pathological complete response rate was 60%, though primary efficacy endpoints are pending.
