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Breast cancer

HER2—a good addiction

Recent neoadjuvant studies have examined the effects of adding single or dual agents targeting HER2 to chemotherapy, finding unanimously that dual HER2 targeting markedly improves pathologic response. These findings have significant implications for future trial designs, particularly if the impact on pathologic response is accompanied by improved disease-free survival or overall survival.

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Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Claire Dees, Hy Muss, and Billy Irvin for their thoughtful and very critical reviews of this commentary.

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L. Carey declares she is a consultant and advisor for Sanofi Oncology, Wyneth/Pfizer, Genentech/Roche, Bristol–Myers Squibb, Novartis, Amgen, and GlaxoSmithKline for which she receives no economic compensation. She receives reserahc support from GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi Oncology and Genentech.

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Carey, L. HER2—a good addiction. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 9, 196–197 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2012.36

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