Emerging treatments in HER2-positive advanced breast cancer: Keep raising the bar

Cell Rep Med. 2024 Jun 18;5(6):101575. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101575. Epub 2024 May 16.

Abstract

Patients with human epidermal receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer are experiencing a consistent shift toward better survival across the years, thanks to tremendous advancements in treatment strategies. The consistent improvements of outcomes set a high bar for new drug development and the need to explore new ways to overcome resistance mechanisms. Emerging treatments in HER2-positive breast cancer aim to tackle the disease by acting on different targets, including not only HER2 (both at the extra- and intracellular level), but also HER3, PD-(L)1, CTLA4, NKG2A, AKT, PI3K, and, in triple-positive tumors, the estrogen receptors and the cyclin-dependent kinases 4/6. This review describes the evolving treatment landscape of HER2-positive breast cancer, from the current approved therapies to the future perspectives, with a focus on the new agents which are likely to get approved in the next future.

Keywords: HER2-positive breast cancer; anti-HER2 treatments; antibody-drug conjugates; bispecific antibodies; immunotherapy.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Breast Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Breast Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Breast Neoplasms* / metabolism
  • Breast Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Molecular Targeted Therapy / methods
  • Receptor, ErbB-2* / genetics
  • Receptor, ErbB-2* / metabolism

Substances

  • Receptor, ErbB-2
  • ERBB2 protein, human