“Confusing for All of Us”: Questions Arise Over ADCs, HER2 in Metastatic Breast Cancer

Approvals of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for metastatic breast cancer have introduced complex questions about HER2 expression. “It’s certainly been a changing landscape, which has been confusing for all of us,” explains Ian Krop, MD, PhD, director of the clinical trials office, chief clinical research officer, and associate director for clinical sciences at Yale Cancer Center in New Haven, Connecticut. He and Robert A. Figlin, MD, the Steven Spielberg Family Chair in Hematology-Oncology at the Cedars-Sinai Cancer Center in Los Angeles, discuss how oncologists should best approach HER2 testing, ADC sequencing, and toxicity concerns. When it comes to answering key questions, “We're a little data-poor in some ways because this is such a rapidly evolving field,” Dr. Krop explains. He also considers what’s next for ADCs in breast cancer, including the potential for those treatments to move into the curative early-disease setting.

Dr. Krop reported various financial relationships. 

Dr. Figlin reported various financial relationships.