Paolo Tarantino, Research Fellow Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical Schoolpost, shared a post on X:

“Can we safely spare multiagent chemotherapy for selected patients with stage II HER2+ breast cancer?

In JAMA Oncology, we report the 5-year results of DAPHNe: among 98 patients, mostly with stage II disease, treated with neoadjuvant THP ×4 and no further chemo if pCR was achieved, we observed no distant recurrences and only one local recurrence, fully resected. 5-year EFS: 99%.

Ultrasensitive MRD dynamics closely mirrored these clinical outcomes, supporting analytical validity and highlighting promising prognostic value.

While the definitive answer awaits CompassHER2-pCR, these data reinforce that abbreviated THP may already be considered for selected patients with low anatomic risk, especially if implementing dynamic MRI monitoring, and considering the possibility to rescue RD adjuvantly with ADCs or more chemo.

MRD and HER2DX will soon provide additional helpful tool to select these patients. Grateful to have worked on this trial with Ada Waks, PI of the study and tremendous mentor and friend.”

Title: Neoadjuvant Paclitaxel, Trastuzumab, and Pertuzumab for Stage II to III, ERBB2-Positive Breast Cancer – A Secondary Analysis of the DAPHNe Trial

Authors: Paolo Tarantino, Tianyu Li, Esther Ogayo, Tasnim Rahman, Molly DiLullo, Ashka Patel, Sherif El-Refai, Charles Abbott, Bailiang Li, Sean Boyle, Richard Chen, Neelam Desai, Laura Spring, Nadine Tung, Natalie Sinclair, Meredith Faggen, Michael Constantine, Tari King, Ian Krop, Nabihah Tayob, Elizabeth Mittendorf, Sara Tolaney, Eric Winer, Heather Parsons, Adrienne Waks