'Switching to subcutaneous Phesgo reduces breast cancer treatment time'

A study has shown that subcutaneous administration of Roche's Phesgo (pertuzumab/trastuzumab) for early and metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer reduces treatment time.

That study was introduced at a symposium on Phesgo during the Korean Society of Medical Oncology (KSMO) 2024 at COEX, Seoul, on Sept. 26-27. Professor Park Kyong-hwa of the Department of Medical Oncology at Korea University Anam Hospital chaired the workshop, which featured Professor Matteo Lambertini, the ESMO Young Oncologists Committee chair, as the speaker.

In his presentation, “Patient Centricity through Phesgo: Achieving a Win-Win Strategy,” Professor Lambertini discussed how the subcutaneous form of Phesgo can improve treatment efficiency, allowing patients with early and metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer to maintain an improved quality of life over the long term.

Phesgo is a reformulated version of trastuzumab and pertuzumab, previously administered intravenously, into a single subcutaneous injection. As a maintenance therapy, Phesgo can be administered in as little as 20 minutes, reducing both dosing and observation time by up to 90 percent compared to the 270 minutes required for the previous intravenous regimen.

“The phase 3 FeDeriCa study confirmed the non-inferior efficacy and similar safety profile of the trastuzumab-pertuzumab combination compared to conventional intravenous agents, demonstrating that Phesgo can effectively reduce treatment and monitoring time for patients, in addition to its superior therapeutic efficacy,” Professor Lambertini said.

Lambertini explained the socioeconomic impact and treatment efficiency gains for patients, hospitals, and healthcare providers.

“A study of the socioeconomic impact of Phesgo in Italy showed that switching to subcutaneous Phesgo can reduce healthcare professionals' involvement time per patient by 25 percent compared to traditional intravenous infusions,” he said.