The HER2 antibody-drug conjugate, trastuzumab deruxtecan has shown durable anticancer activity in patients with HER2-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), in recent research from NEJM. 

In the international and multicenter phase II study, 91 patients with HER2-mutant NSCLC who either relapsed or were refractory to standard treatment, received 6.4 mg/kg of intravenous trastuzumab deruxtecan every 3 weeks.  

Upon study conclusion, the median duration of treatment was 6.9 months, and treatment was ongoing for 15 patients.  

Fifty patients (55%) had a confirmed objective response, and 54% had a confirmed partial response.  

92% of patients had disease control and saw a reduction in tumor size.  

The median duration of response was 9.3 months, median progression-free survival was 8.2 months, and median overall survival was 17.8 months.  

Forty-seven patients (52%) died by the conclusion of the study, and the remaining patients continue with follow-up. 

Among 33 patients with CNS metastases at baseline, median progression-free survival was 7.1 months and median overall survival was 13.8 months. 

All 91 patients had at least one adverse event, and 88 patients (97%) had at least one adverse event that investigators reported as related to trastuzumab deruxtecan. The full safety profile is consistent with those of previous studies. 

The lack of a comparator or a control group in this study requires further research to determine if trastuzumab deruxtecan is a successful treatment for HER2-mutant NSCLC, according to the researchers. 

“Trastuzumab deruxtecan was shown to produce a response in a high percentage of patients with advanced HER2-mutant NSCLC and to provide durable clinical benefit. Interstitial lung disease remains an important risk that requires careful safety monitoring and management. This study provides clinical evidence of antitumor activity from a HER2-targeted therapy for patients with previously treated HER2-mutant NSCLC,” Bob T. Li, MD, PhD, and the DESTINY-Lung01 Trial Investigators wrote in the study.

 
Reference: 
Li BT, et al. N Engl J Med. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2112431. Sept. 18, 2021. 

Disclosures: Some authors declared financial ties to drugmakers. See full study for details. 
Images: Getty Images, Pixabay 


By Mara Shapiro, Staff Writer