ENHERTU® Followed by THP Before Surgery Showed Statistically Significant and Clinically Meaningful Improvement in Pathologic Complete Response in Patients With High-Risk HER2 Positive Early-Stage Breast Cancer in DESTINY-Breast11 Phase 3 Trial

In This Article:

  • Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca’s ENHERTU followed by THP showed an improved safety profile versus standard of care

  • First phase 3 trial to demonstrate benefit of ENHERTU in early breast cancer

  • Results will be shared with regulatory authorities

TOKYO & BASKING RIDGE, N.J., May 07, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Positive topline results from the DESTINY-Breast11 phase 3 trial showed ENHERTU® (trastuzumab deruxtecan) followed by paclitaxel, trastuzumab and pertuzumab (THP) demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in pathologic complete response (pCR) rate versus standard of care (dose-dense doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by THP [ddAC-THP]) when used in the neoadjuvant setting (before surgery) in patients with high-risk, locally advanced HER2 positive early-stage breast cancer. Pathologic complete response is defined as no evidence of invasive cancer cells in the removed breast tissue and lymph nodes following treatment.

The secondary endpoint of event-free survival (EFS) was not mature at the time of this analysis; however, EFS data showed an early positive trend favoring ENHERTU followed by THP compared to standard of care. The trial will continue to follow EFS.

ENHERTU is a specifically engineered HER2 directed DXd antibody drug conjugate (ADC) discovered by Daiichi Sankyo (TSE: 4568) and being jointly developed and commercialized by Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN).

Approximately one in three patients with early-stage breast cancer are considered high-risk, as they are more likely to experience disease recurrence and have a poor prognosis.1,2 Achieving pCR in early-stage HER2 positive breast cancer is associated with improved long-term outcomes.3,4 The current standard of care in many regions of the world in this neoadjuvant setting consists of combination chemotherapy regimens. These regimens often include anthracyclines, which can be challenging for patients to tolerate and may result in long-term cardiovascular side effects. Further, nearly half of patients who receive neoadjuvant treatment do not achieve pCR, reinforcing the need for new treatment options.2,5

"There are still many patients with early-stage breast cancer who do not achieve a pathologic complete response with treatment in the neoadjuvant setting, increasing the risk of disease recurrence," said Ken Takeshita, MD, Global Head, R&D, Daiichi Sankyo. "These topline results from DESTINY-Breast11 demonstrate that ENHERTU followed by THP could offer patients with HER2 positive breast cancer a promising new treatment approach prior to surgery, setting more patients on a path towards a potential cure."