Patients With Breast Cancer May Have Fewer Side Effects with ADCs

Patients with breast cancer receiving antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs, after traditional chemotherapy can generally expect milder side effects compared with their previous treatment, according to Kelsey Martin, an acute care nurse practitioner.

She goes on to explain that while experiences vary depending on the specific drug, many patients notice the familiar pattern of challenging days followed by periods of feeling well, similar to chemotherapy but less intense. Side effects may still occur, but the lows are usually less severe.

Martin sat down for an interview with CURE to describe what patients can expect in terms of side effects when receiving antibody-drug conjugates after traditional chemotherapy.

Notably, she is an advanced oncology certified nurse practitioner at SCRI Oncology Partners where she specializes in treating breast and gynecologic cancer.

Transcript

What can patients typically expect in terms of side effects when receiving antibody-drug conjugates after traditional chemotherapy?

It all depends on the specific drug, as all drugs can be a little bit different.

I would expect patients to feel a muted version of the side effects they felt on chemotherapy. For example, if they typically felt bad on days three to six of chemotherapy, they may still feel that way on these ADCs, but hopefully to a much lesser degree. They should still get that rebound, where they feel good on their weeks off treatment. So, you’re still going to get that kind of ebb and flow of good days and bad days, but we just don't want the lows to be too low, and hopefully, the highs will still be just as high.

I think you’ll still have a bit of a trajectory, especially with these IV treatments, where you’ll have a couple of days that aren't so great. But in general, you will hopefully feel better than you did on chemotherapy.

This transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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