Outcomes of subsequent treatment regimens after trastuzumab deruxtecan in patients with metastatic breast cancer

J Natl Cancer Inst. 2025 Nov 1;117(11):2327-2335. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djaf220.

Abstract

Background: Most patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) are eligible for treatment with trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd). No data are available to guide treatment after exposure to T-DXd.

Methods: We utilized a nationwide electronic health record-derived, deidentified database to review data of patients with MBC who initiated T-DXd between December 2019 and December 2023 and who received an additional line of treatment after T-DXd. Tumors were categorized as HER2-positive if ever positive before T-DXd, and HER2-negative if never HER2-positive before T-DXd. We compared real-world progression-free survival (rwPFS) and overall survival for post-T-DXd treatments using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test.

Results: We identified 793 patients receiving a post-T-DXd treatment. Post-T-DXd treatment outcomes differed significantly by MBC subtype: median rwPFS was 4.6 months for HER2-positive, 3.4 months for hormone receptor- (HR)-positive/HER2-negative, and 2.8 months for triple-negative MBC (P < .001). Outcomes with post-T-DXd treatments also varied significantly according to treatment regimen (P < .001). Among patients with HER2-positive MBC, median rwPFS ranged from 6.7 months with endocrine treatment regimens to 2.6 months with sacituzumab govitecan (SG). Among patients with HR-positive/HER2-negative MBC, rwPFS ranged from 5.9 months with eribulin to 2.6 months with SG. Among patients with triple-negative MBC, poor outcomes (rwPFS ≤3 months) were observed with most treatment regimens, including SG (3 months), eribulin (2 months), and multiagent chemotherapy (2.5 months).

Conclusions: Outcomes of post-T-DXd treatments differ significantly by MBC subtype and type of regimen administered. The use of SG immediately after T-DXd was associated with relatively short rwPFS across subtypes, highlighting some degree of cross-resistance with T-DXd.

Trial registration: N/A.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological / therapeutic use
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols* / therapeutic use
  • Breast Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Breast Neoplasms* / mortality
  • Breast Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Camptothecin* / administration & dosage
  • Camptothecin* / analogs & derivatives
  • Camptothecin* / therapeutic use
  • Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / metabolism
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunoconjugates* / administration & dosage
  • Immunoconjugates* / therapeutic use
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasm Metastasis
  • Progression-Free Survival
  • Trastuzumab* / administration & dosage
  • Trastuzumab* / therapeutic use
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Trastuzumab
  • Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases
  • Camptothecin
  • Immunoconjugates
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological
  • trastuzumab deruxtecan
  • ERBB2 protein, human