Emerging Therapies and Ongoing Trials in Breast Cancer
A breast oncologist looks to the future of breast cancer treatment and discusses emerging therapies and ongoing clinical trials.
This is a synopsis of an OncView series featuring Sara M. Tolaney, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Sara M. Tolaney, MD, MPH, Chief of Breast Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discussed emerging therapies in breast cancer, particularly antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Currently approved ADCs trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), sacituzumab govitecan (SG), and trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DM1) are transforming treatment across breast cancer subtypes. However, numerous ADCs in development show promise to further advance the field.
Datopotamab deruxtecan (D-DXd) targets TROP2 and delivers a topoisomerase I inhibitor payload. Robust activity was demonstrated in pretreated hormone receptor (HR)-positive and triple negative metastatic breast cancers. The TROPION-Breast01 trial of D-DXd for pretreated HR-positive disease and TROPiCS-02 trial in first-line PD-L1-negative triple negative disease may support approvals if positive when results emerge later this year.
Additional ADCs include the HER3-targeted petosemtamab which showed preliminary activity across HR-positive, HER2-positive, and triple negative disease. Various novel HER2-targeting ADCs are also progressing through clinical trials.
With multiple ADCs demonstrating efficacy across breast cancer subtypes, determining optimal sequencing will be increasing important. Combining different ADC targets and payloads may also further improve outcomes.
Beyond ADCs, Dr. Tolaney highlighted promising targeted therapies like AKT inhibitors, mutant-selective PI3K inhibitors to improve on alpelisib’s toxicity profile, and HER3 inhibitors. Such emerging agents will hopefully continue improving patient outcomes while reducing treatment toxicity through personalized approaches tailored to an individual’s genomic alterations.
*Video synopsis is AI-generated and reviewed by Cancer Network editorial staff.
