A review of treatment options in HER2-low breast cancer and proposed treatment sequencing algorithm

Abstract

The expansion of the spectrum of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-status to HER2-low, defined as HER2 expression of 1+ by immunohistochemistry (IHC) or 2+ by IHC without gene amplification, has made a major impact in the field of oncology. The HER2-low expression has emerged as a targetable biomarker, and anti-HER2 antibody-drug conjugate trastuzumab deruxtecan has shown significant survival benefit in pretreated metastatic HER2-low breast cancer (BC). With these recent data, the treatment algorithm for hormone receptor–positive and triple-negative BC needs to be reconsidered, as approximately half of these BCs are HER2-low. Although there are different therapeutic agents for hormone receptor–positive and hormone receptor–negative HER2-low BCs, there is no consensus regarding the sequencing of these agents. In this article, the treatment options for HER2-low BC are enumerated and a treatment sequencing algorithm based on the current clinical evidence proposed.