Managing Cumulative Toxicities and Patient-Reported Outcomes in Advanced HER2 Positive Breast Cancer

This segment addresses the growing importance of toxicity management and quality-of-life preservation as patients receive multiple lines of HER2-directed therapy over several years. The discussion highlights cumulative adverse effects such as hand-foot syndrome from capecitabine, gastrointestinal toxicity from TKIs, fatigue, and the ongoing need for vigilance around interstitial lung disease. Panelists emphasize integrating patient-reported outcomes into clinical decision making, noting that symptom burden, convenience, and functional status often become as influential as efficacy in later lines of therapy. Strategies such as dose modification, supportive care, and proactive patient education are discussed as tools to sustain treatment adherence while minimizing impact on daily life. This segment reinforces the need to balance disease control with long-term tolerability in a population living longer with metastatic disease.