Dr. Carey on the Clinical Implications of the FeDeriCa trial in HER2+ Breast Cancer

Lisa A. Carey, MD, FASCO, The Richardson and Marilyn Jacobs Preyer Distinguished Professor in Breast Cancer Research, deputy director of clinical sciences, division chief, Hematology and Oncology, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the clinical implications of the phase 3 FeDeriCa trial (NCT03493854) in HER2-positive breast cancer.

The FeDeriCa trial met its primary end point by showing that the subcutaneous formulation of the fixed-dose combination of trastuzumab (Herceptin) and pertuzumab (Perjeta) with hyaluronidase-zzxf (Phesgo)

provided noninferior cycle 7 pertuzumab serum Ctrough concentrations compared with intravenous (IV) trastuzumab plus pertuzumab as neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment for patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer. Additionally, the total pathologic complete response rates were comparable between regimens, says Carey.

As such, the subcutaneous formulation of trastuzumab plus pertuzumab is a reasonable treatment option for patients in this setting, Carey says. Moreover, findings from the phase 2 PHranceSCa trial (NCT03674112) demonstrated that the majority of patients evaluated preferred the subcutaneous vs IV administration of trastuzumab plus pertuzumab. The subcutaneous formulation offers patients ease of administration with less time in an infusion center, concludes Carey.