Therapeutic Outcomes of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Combined with Pertuzumab for HER2—Positive Breast Cancer

Abstract

The combination of pertuzumab in neoadjuvant chemotherapy for HER2-positive breast cancer was approved in Japan in October 2018 due to the results of the NeoSphere study which showed an improvement in the pathological complete response (pCR) rate. In this study, we evaluated the therapeutic efficacy and safety of pertuzumab combination in 44 patients with HER2-positive breast cancer who had received neoadjuvant chemotherapy at our hospital since 2012. Results showed a pCR rate of 25.0% without pertuzumab and 55.0% with pertuzumab, indicating an added value by pertuzumab (p=0.028). Most of the adverse side effects in patients treated with pertuzumab were Grade 2 or less and were well tolerated. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with pertuzumab is useful and safe in the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer.