New treatment could change the lives of women affected by advanced breast cancer resistant to standard therapies. A French study published in Medicine nature reveals very encouraging results.
Frequent breast cancer and difficult to treat
Breast cancer remains the most common in women in the world. In 2020, more than 2.3 million new cases were diagnosed and more than 600,000 registered deaths. These figures translate an overwhelming reality: behind each statistics, patients and their families faced with uncertainty.
The arrival of CDK4/6 inhibitors combined with hormone therapy marked a turning point in the management of hormone -dependent metastatic breast cancer, significantly extending survival. But sooner or later, the disease ends up bypassing these treatments. At this stage, effective therapeutic options are rare and patients find themselves faced with a limited therapeutic future.
Patrimuab Deruxtecan, a conjugate antibody carrying hope
It is in this context that the Patritumab Deruxtecan, or Her3-DXD, enters the scene. This conjugate antibody (ADC) combines an HER3 targeting antibody with chemotherapy (I). The test Icarus-Breast01led by Gustave Roussy with several French centers, tested this treatment on patients with metastatic breast cancer expressing hormonal receptors but her2 negative.
After positive signals during preliminary studies, this publication in Medicine nature1 comes to confirm its clinical interest.
From May 2021 to June 2023, 99 women received the Deruxtecan Patritumab every three weeks, until their illness or the appearance of severe toxicity. The data reported is significant:
- 53.5 % Patients have seen their tumor regress significantly;
- Approximately 63 % have drawn clinical treatment from the treatment (reduction or stabilization for at least six months);
- Two patients experienced a Complete disappearance of visible signs of their cancera lasting response for more than two years.
Median follow -up was 15.3 months. The unprofessional median duration reached 9.2 monthsand the average response duration was 9.3 months.
The most frequent side effects were fatigue (83 %), nausea (75 %) and diarrhea (53 %). The tolerance profile corresponded to what had already been observed before, confirming that the treatment remains administration despite its intensity.
The next steps
Faced with these results, Dr Barbara Pistilli, oncologist at Gustave Roussy, judges that “The Her3-DXD treatment has shown promising efficiency and good tolerance in patients with advanced hormone-dependent breast cancer, in the failure of standard treatments “. Can this new medication now represent a therapeutic solution for these patients with options? Not immediately according to the expert, but the current studies results should make it possible to have more evidence of the effectiveness of this compound. “”These first results must now be confirmed by larger trials, some of which have already started internationally and which will soon arrive in France “2.3.
These remarks reflect both the hopeful hope and the necessary scientific prudence. If the ICARUS-BREAST01 study marks an important step, only confirmation by larger tests will make it possible to fully define the place of the Deruxtecan Patritumab in the management of metastatic breast cancer.