Christoph Deinzer, Deputy Head of Medical Oncology at University Hospital Tübingen, shared on LinkedIn:
“New publication in the Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology!
I am pleased to share our latest publication: ՛HER2 as a treatment target in desmoplastic small round cell tumors (DSRCT): a retrospective study in a certified sarcoma center.՛
Desmoplastic small round cell tumors (DSRCT) are exceptionally rare and aggressive malignancies, with limited therapeutic options and a substantial unmet clinical need.
In this retrospective study, we analyzed 11 patients with molecularly confirmed DSRCT treated at our certified Sarcoma Center at the University Hospital Tübingen.
Key findings:
- HER2 protein expression (IHC 1+ or 2+) was detected in 8 of 11 patients (72.7%), despite the absence of HER2 amplification in all cases.
- Two extensively pretreated patients with HER2 IHC 2+/FISH-negative tumors received trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd).
- Both patients initially demonstrated radiological responses.
- Remarkably, one patient maintained disease control beyond 10 treatment cycles, despite chronic dialysis, without significant additional toxicity or dose modifications.
Although these findings are hypothesis-generating and do not establish treatment efficacy, they provide an encouraging clinical signal and support further investigation of HER2-directed antibody-drug conjugates in this rare and challenging sarcoma subtype.
This work highlights the importance of systematic molecular and immunohistochemical characterization and multidisciplinary collaboration in specialized sarcoma centers.
Many thanks to all co-authors and colleagues involved in this work, particularly our teams from Surgery, Pathology, and Medical Oncology at the University Hospital Tübingen.
Title: HER2 as a treatment target in desmoplastic small round cell tumors (DSRCT): a retrospective study in a certified sarcoma center
Authors: Christoph K. W. Deinzer, Katrin Benzler, Lars Zender, Ruth Ladurner, Robert Rottscholl, Jens Strohäker
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