In the DAPHNe study, patients received neoadjuvant therapy with paclitaxel, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab for 12 weeks -- a shorter schedule than that currently recommended by guidelines.A secondary analysis of the trial showed that abbreviated treatment was tied to "excellent" long-term outcomes in patients with stage II to III HER2-positive breast cancer.An ultrasensitive ctDNA analysis also demonstrated near-universal ctDNA clearance after neoadjuvant treatment.
Abbreviated treatment with neoadjuvant paclitaxel, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab (Perjeta) was tied to "excellent" long-term outcomes in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, a secondary analysis of the phase II DAPHNe trial showed.
Among 98 patients with stage II to III disease, the 5-year event-free survival rate was 99%, the recurrence-free interval was 98%, the distant recurrence-free interval was 100%, and the overall survival rate was 99% with the combination, reported Adrienne G. Waks, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and colleagues in JAMA Oncology.
In a circulating tumor (ct)DNA analysis among 57 patients, baseline ctDNA was detected in 89.5%. After neoadjuvant therapy, ctDNA clearance occurred in 96.1%, with just two patients remaining ctDNA-positive preoperatively. One patient experienced a local recurrence, with ctDNA detected at the time of recurrence and cleared following resection.
