A study to learn how well HER3-DXd (patritumab deruxtecan) works and how safe it is in people with previously treated non-small-cell lung cancer that has a mutation in the EGFR gene: a plain language summary of the HERTHENA-Lung01 study

Abstract

Plain Language SummaryWhat is this summary about?This is a summary of the publication about the HERTHENA-Lung01 study, which was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in September 2023. The study included 277 adults with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that had a mutation in a gene called EGFR. The researchers wanted to know whether a study drug called HER3-DXd (patritumab deruxtecan) could improve participants’ cancer after it had grown after previous treatment with certain other cancer drugs.What are the key takeaways?About 3 out of every 10 participants responded to treatment with HER3-DXd at some point during the study, which means their cancer shrank significantly or disappeared. Among the participants who benefited, about half had their cancer continue to respond to HER3-DXd for longer than 6.4 months before growing or spreading.After starting treatment with HER3-DXd, about half of the participants lived for longer than about 5.5 months before their cancer grew, spread, or caused death, and for longer than about 11.9 months overall.For participants with brain metastases, 1 out of every 3 participants had their brain metastases respond to treatment with HER3-DXd. About half of these participants had their brain metastases continue to respond to HER3-DXd for longer than about 8 months.About 6 out of every 10 participants had a severe new medical issue during the study, either related or unrelated to HER3-DXd.Almost all participants had a new medical issue during the study that was possibly related to HER3-DXd. About 1 out of every 20 participants had interstitial lung disease (ILD) or pneumonitis that was possibly related to HER3-DXd.What were the main conclusions reported by the researchers?HER3-DXd has been shown to be effective for people who have NSCLC with certain EGFR mutations and whose cancer has progressed after multiple previous treatments. People who receive HER3-DXd should be watched closely for signs of interstitial lung disease (ILD) or pneumonitis. These are the results from one study, and other studies might provide different results. This study did not directly compare HER3-DXd with any other cancer treatments. Always talk to your doctor before making any changes to your medication. Further studies with HER3-DXd are planned and multiple studies are ongoing.Clinical trial number: NCT04619004