In HER2-positive breast cancer (BC), the standard treatment consists of neoadjuvant sequential chemotherapy, HER2-targeted therapy, surgery, and, if indicated, radiotherapy and/or hormonal therapy. Trastuzumab, a recombinant antibody targeting HER2, has significantly extended the overall survival of BC patients and remains clinically reliable treatment.
The 5-year survival, when following the standard treatment protocol, including HER2-targeted therapy, leads to a favorable prognosis with a 5-year survival rate around 75%. Improved overall survival (OS) was reported in BC patients when trastuzumab was administered in both the neoadjuvant and adjuvant period rather than in the adjuvant period alone.
Thus, trastuzumab-containing neoadjuvant therapy is currently the standard of care.