HER2-Positive Early Breast Cancer: Reviewing the DESTINY-Breast11 Trial

Dr. Neil Iyengar transitions the discussion to emerging antibody-drug conjugate data in HER2-positive early breast cancer, asking Dr. Kelly McCann to review the phase III DESTINY-Breast11 trial. Dr. McCann outlines the study population, which included patients with high-risk stage II, stage III, and inflammatory breast cancer, and describes the neoadjuvant treatment arms evaluating trastuzumab deruxtecan followed by paclitaxel, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab compared with standard therapy. The faculty discuss the study's primary endpoint of pathologic complete response (pCR) and the substantial improvement observed with the investigational regimen, while also reviewing the arm evaluating trastuzumab deruxtecan alone and why it did not advance. The discussion provides viewers with an overview of the trial design, patient population, and key efficacy findings, setting the stage for a broader conversation on integrating emerging neoadjuvant evidence into the management of high-risk HER2-positive early breast cancer.