Trastuzumab Deruxtecan for HER2-Positive Esophagogastric Cancer in U.S. and European Patients

The antibody–drug conjugate trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) has substantial activity across a spectrum of HER2-positive cancers. In HER2-positive gastric cancer, second or later line use of T-DXd is approved in the U.S. based on superiority for this agent over conventional chemotherapy, as reported in the DESTINY-Gastric01 trial conducted in Japan and South Korea (NEJM JW Oncol Hematol Jun 11 2020 and N Engl J Med 2020 382:2419).

Investigators now report results from DESTINY-Gastric02, an industry-sponsored, multicenter, phase 2 trial evaluating T-DXd (6.4 mg/kg intravenously every 3 weeks) in patients recruited in the U.S. and Europe. Patients were required to have disease progression on trastuzumab-based first-line chemotherapy. Of 89 patie…