Another Antibody Drug Conjugate for Breast Cancer?

In a phase I study, trastuzumab duocarmazine demonstrated antitumor activity with manageable toxicity in HER2-low breast cancers and other solid tumors.

The expanding number of HER2-directed therapies has provided more options for patients with early- and late-stage cancers. As new agents become incorporated into neoadjuvant and adjuvant regimens, patients who develop disease recurrence continue to need other options. Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) are attractive because they are able to target a specific tumor-cell population and then, with conjugation to a cytotoxic, enhance antitumor activity with the potential for far less off-target toxicity compared with administration of a cytotoxic alone.

Trastuzumab duocarmazine (SYD985) is a novel ADC that covalently links antibody to duocarmycin with a drug-to-antibody ratio of 2.8:1. After binding HER2 and tumor-cell internalization, the linker …

Reviewing Author

William J. Gradishar, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardLilly; AstraZeneca; Gilead

Grant/Research SupportBreast Cancer Research Foundation

Editorial BoardsClinical Breast Cancer; Oncology; Annals of Surgery; Breast Cancer Research and Treatment

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNational Comprehensive Cancer Network (Chair, Breast Cancer Panel); American Board of Internal Medicine (Medical Oncology Board)