ADCs therapy doubles the survival of patients with the “most aggressive breast cancer”

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Chinese women and the fifth leading cause of cancer death. Not only do the incidence and mortality rates continue to rise, the age of onset is also getting younger and younger. Breast cancer patients under the age of 44 account for nearly 1/3 of the total breast cancer cases among Chinese.

Although many breast cancers can be diagnosed at an early stage with the advancement of screening technology, some types of breast cancer are highly invasive and easily metastatic, and have long lacked effective treatment options. The new anticancer drug ADCs has changed this situation and brought hope to patients with refractory breast cancer.

ADCs change the treatment landscape of breast cancer

ADCs, short for Antibody-drug conjugates, combines the precision of monoclonal antibodies with the killing effect of chemotherapy drugs on cancer cells. It recognizes and binds to specific antigens on cancer cells through antibodies, and then delivers cytotoxic drugs (i.e., potent chemotherapy drugs) directly into cancer cells, achieving precise killing of cancer cells while reducing damage to surrounding normal cells. Therefore, experts call it a “magic bullet”, “precision missile”, and “changed the cancer treatment landscape”.

There are many types of breast cancer. Doctors will use different treatments for different types and stages of breast cancer:

•Local treatment, including surgery and radiotherapy;
•Systemic treatment, such as chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, ADCs therapy.

When other treatments fail, especially in advanced or metastatic cases, doctors often turn to a new type of cancer treatment – ADCs.

ADCs improve efficacy in two difficult-to-treat breast cancers

⦿The “worst” breast cancer – triple-negative breast cancer

In the early stages of breast cancer, curative treatment (rather than palliative treatment) is the primary goal. However, once cancer cells metastasize, treatment becomes increasingly difficult as primary or secondary drug resistance emerges, especially for advanced triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).