Trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) is approved for the treatment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-low metastatic breast cancer (mBC). Results on T-DXd treatment in HER2-low mBC have so far been limited to clinical trials. DESTINY-Breast Respond HER2-low Europe (NCT05945732) is a multi-center, multi-country, observational, prospective, non-interventional study planning to enroll 1350 patients from 216 sites receiving T-DXd or conventional chemotherapy as their routine clinical care for advanced stage breast cancer in 12 European countries. This non-interventional study will provide real-world insight into T-DXd treatment for HER2-low mBC with data on effectiveness, safety and tolerability, patient-reported outcomes, treatment patterns, geriatric health status and HER2 testing. This will be beneficial for improving guidance to maximize patient treatment benefit.
Keywords: HER2-low; adverse events; metastatic breast cancer; overall survival; patient-reported outcomes; progression-free survival; trastuzumab deruxtecan.
Trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd; Enhertu®) is a medicine approved to treat cancers that produce a protein called HER2 on the surface of cancer cells. T-DXd works by targeting the HER2 protein to deliver chemotherapy directly to cancer cells. Until recently, breast cancers were classified as HER2-positive (high level of HER2 protein on cancer cells) or HER2-negative (very low level/no HER2 protein on cancer cells). T-DXd was approved for treating patients with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer in Europe in 2022. In 2023 the DESTINY-Breast04 clinical trial showed that T-DXd was more effective than current standard chemotherapies, when treating advanced breast cancer patients with low levels of the HER2 protein (historically classified as HER2-negative cancer). This trial led to the approval of T-DXd for treating advanced HER2-low breast cancer, providing a new treatment option for 50–60% of breast cancer patients. More information is needed about T-DXd treatment in the real world (for patients treated in the hospital, rather than in a clinical trial). This article describes the purpose and design of the DESTINY-Breast Respond HER2-low Europe study, which will collect and report more information about how effective T-DXd treatment is in the real world. This is a large study aiming to include 1350 eligible patients from 12 countries across Europe. Patients will report their experience of side effects (such as nausea and vomiting) to improve management of T-DXd treatment and maximize patient benefit. The study will also examine how elderly patients respond to T-DXd treatment, and how HER2 levels are being tested. Clinical Trial Registration: ICH CGP: NCT05945732, registered on 6 July 2023 (ClinicalTrials.gov).