Key clinical point: Neoadjuvant treatment with trastuzumab improved the rate of pathological complete response (pCR) achievement and thereby survival outcomes in patients with lymph node-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2+) early breast cancer (BC).
Major finding: Trastuzumab therapy significantly improved the odds of achieving pCR (adjusted odds ratio 4.87; 95% CI 3.34-7.10) in patients with HER2+ early BC, with overall survival outcomes being better with vs without trastuzumab treatment in patients who achieved pCR (adjusted hazard ratio 0.30; 95% CI 0.11-0.84).
Study details: Findings are from a real-world study including 1178 patients with HER2+ early BC and 354 patients with early triple-negative BC who received trastuzumab-based and platinum-based neoadjuvant treatments, respectively.
Disclosures: This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan and Roche Products Ltd. Three authors declared being employees of Roche Products Ltd.
Source: Chung WP et al. Real-life analysis of neoadjuvant-therapy-associated benefits for pathological complete response and survival in early breast cancer patients - role of trastuzumab in HER2+ BC and platinum in TNBC. Front Oncol. 2023;12:1022994 (Jan 24). Doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.1022994