Researchers from the Medical University of Vienna have shown that brain metastases in breast cancer patients partially or completely regress under the influence of a combination of the two active substances. The results of the study were published in the journal. Nature.
The study included 14 women and one man with HER2-positive breast cancer. All patients had brain metastases and were treated at the Oncology Department of the Medical University of Vienna and the University Hospital Vienna. A team of doctors studied the effects of an experimental drug, trazzumab deruxtecan (T-Dxd), on metastases.
T-Dxd reduced the metastases in 73.3% of the patients and caused their complete disappearance in two (13.3%) patients. The researchers also found that the drug was well tolerated and the participants had no deterioration in brain function or quality of life during the treatment. T-Dxd has already been approved in the EU and some countries outside of Europe, so scientists believe it could already be used in clinical practice to treat patients with metastases.
15% of breast cancer patients have HER2 positive breast cancer. Brain metastases occur in 50% of HER2 positive patients. Until now, it was unknown whether T-Dxd, a chemical conjugate of a monoclonal antibody and a chemotherapy drug, would be effective in active metastases.