Finding the right treatment for rare cancers is incredibly difficult because every case is so unique. For patients with aggressive, hard-to-treat tumors, the standard options often fall short. However, a recent report from Bumrungrad International Hospital shows that targeting a specific genetic driver, known as ERBB2 amplification, might offer a way forward.
In this small series of three patients, doctors used antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), which are medications designed to deliver chemotherapy directly to cancer cells. One patient with periampullary carcinoma experienced a partial remission lasting 301 days. Another patient with salivary duct carcinoma saw a complete response in both their brain and the rest of their body. A third patient with poorly differentiated carcinoma also saw a near-complete response.
While these results are encouraging, it is important to remember this was a very small group of only three people. We also saw that one patient had to switch from T-DXd to T-DM1 due to toxicity, which is a side effect from the treatment. Because this was a retrospective case series, more large-scale research is needed to confirm if these drugs work for others with these rare diagnoses.
