Dr. Yardley on Emerging Agents in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

Denise A. Yardley, MD, senior investigator, Breast Cancer Research Program, principal investigator, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, discusses some of the emerging agents in HER2-positive breast cancer.

One promising therapy is ONT-380 (tucatinib), which is currently under investigation in three phase I studies in combination with other anti-HER2 therapies. ONT-380 is similar to lapatinib (Tykerb), though the latter is fraught with several toxicities, says Yardley.

So far, ONT-380 has demonstrated good penetrance into the CNS, and patients treated with the agent have been stable, asymptomatic, and are generally tolerating the drug well in combination with trastuzumab (Herceptin).