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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) receptor tyrosine kinase is overexpressed in 20–30% of breast cancers and is associated with poor prognosis and worse overall patient survival. Most women with HER2-positive breast cancer receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus HER2-targeted therapies. The development of HER2-directed therapeutics is an important advancement in targeting invasive breast cancer. Despite the efficacy of anti-HER2 monoclonal antibodies, they are still being combined with adjuvant chemotherapy to improve overall patient outcomes. Recently, significant progress has been made towards the development of a class of therapeutics known as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), which leverage the high specificity of HER2-targeted monoclonal antibodies with the potent cytotoxic effects of various small molecules, such as tubulin inhibitors and topoisomerase inhibitors. To date, two HER2-targeting ADCs have been approved by the FDA for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer: Ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1; Kadcyla®) and fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-Dxd; Enhertu®). Kadcyla and Enhertu are approved for use as a second-line treatment after trastuzumab-taxane-based therapy in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer. The success of ADCs in the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer provides novel therapeutic advancements in the management of the disease. In this review, we discuss the basic biology of HER2, its downstream signaling pathways, currently available anti-HER2 therapeutic modalities and their mechanisms of action, and the latest clinical and safety characteristics of ADCs used for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer.

Details

Title
Antibody-Drug Conjugates for the Treatment of HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
Author
Najjar, Mariana K 1 ; Manore, Sara G 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Regua, Angelina T 2 ; Hui-Wen, Lo 3 

 Wake Forest Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, USA 
 Department of Neurosurgery, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, MSE R162, 6431 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA 
 Department of Neurosurgery, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, MSE R162, 6431 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Cancer Biology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, USA 
First page
2065
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20734425
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2748290368
Copyright
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.