Datopotamab Deruxtecan Shows Promise in Clinical Trials

https://www.survivingbreastcancer.org/post/datopotamab-deruxtecan

A promising breakthrough has recently emerged in the ongoing clinical trials for the datopotamab deruxtecan drug. AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo have been conducting research as part of their TROPION-Breast01 trial, which seeks to determine the effects of datopotamab deruxtecan against single-agent chemotherapy for patients with inoperable or metastatic HR-positive, HER2-low or negative breast cancer who are not candidates for endocrine therapy or have already previously progressed on other interventions. This research is taking place through randomized, multicenter, open label trials with over 700 patients across Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Africa.

Datopotamab deruxtecan is an antibody-drug conjugate, a class of drug which is designed for targeted therapies and most often used in treatment of cancer. There are currently more than 12 clinical trials ongoing worldwide to study the effects of the drug on multiple tumors, with a particular interest in its effects on hormone receptor-positive, HER2-low or negative breast cancer.

Breast cancer is classified as “hormone receptor-positive” after a biopsy to collect cancer cells. These cells are then tested to determine whether they contain proteins which can act as receptors for the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Cancer cells with receptors will require these same hormones to grow. Being hormone receptor-positive means that the cancer cells contain receptors for either estrogen, progesterone, or both. Hormone receptor-positive cancer typically grows slower than hormone receptor-negative cancer.

HER2-low or negative breast cancer is a categorization based on the level of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) proteins in breast cells. At the right level, HER2 proteins can help control the rate of breast cell growth and maintenance. In cancer patients, however, a high level of HER2 may indicate that the breast cancer is growing and spreading rapidly. Specific drugs and therapies which target HER2 proteins, but patients who are HER2-low or negative typically will not respond well to such treatments.