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Review
. 2023 Nov 26;12(23):7325.
doi: 10.3390/jcm12237325.

Antibody-Drug Conjugates in HR+ Breast Cancer: Where Are We Now and Where Are We Heading?

Affiliations
Review

Antibody-Drug Conjugates in HR+ Breast Cancer: Where Are We Now and Where Are We Heading?

Pierluigi De Santis et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer (BC) accounts for about 60-70% of all diagnosed BCs, and endocrine therapy has long been the hallmark of systemic treatment for this tumor subtype. However, the therapeutic paradigm of luminal BC has been overcome due to recent evidence of antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) activity (such as trastuzumab deruxtecan and sacituzumab govitecan) in pretreated metastatic HR+ BC patients. Therefore, nowadays, the identification of patients who can benefit more from this approach represents a new challenge, as does the management of new toxicities and the integration of these drugs into the therapeutic algorithm of HR+ metastatic BC patients.

Keywords: ADCs; HER2; HR+ breast cancer; combination therapy; sacituzumab govitecan; target therapy; trastuzumab deruxtecan.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Summary figure.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A). Structure of ADCs. (B). Mechanisms of action of ADCs: (1) Identification of target and creation of ADC/antigen complex. (2) Intracellular internalization of ADC/antigen complex. (3) Release of cytotoxic payload. (4) Cell death and involvement of other tumor cells thanks to bystander effect.

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