Jill Murphy

A study from Gustave Roussy and the startup Owkin shows that deep learning analysis in digitized pathology slides can help classify patients with localized breast cancer between high- and low-risk of metastatic relapse in the next 5 years using artificial intelligence (AI).

This could help in therapeutic decision making and avoid unnecessary chemotherapy affecting the personal, professional, and social lives for low-risk women, according to the researchers. They added that this is one of the first proofs of concept illustrating the power of an AI model for identifying parameters associated with relapse that the human brain could not detect.

The RACE AI study was conducted among a cohort of 1400 patients managed at Gustave-Roussy between 2005 and 2013 for localized hormone-sensitive (hormone receptor-positive, humean epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative) breast cancer, and these women were treated with surgery, radiotherapy, hormone therapy, and sometimes chemotherapy to reduce the risk of distant relapse.

Gustave Roussy and Owkin proposed a new method to direct patients identified as being at high risk towards new innovative therapies and avoiding unnecessary chemotherapy for low-risk patients. An AI model was developed in the RACE AI that would assess the risk of relapse with an area under the curve of 81% to help the practitioner determine the benefit/risk balance of chemotherapy.

The calculation is based on the patient’s clinical data combined with the analysis of stained and digitized histological slides of the tumor. The slides contain rich information for the management of cancer, making it unnecessary to develop a new technique or to equip a specific technical platform, according to the study.

A slide scanner is the only important equipment that can be found in most laboratories, as it digitized the morphological information present on the slide, according to the researchers.

This study opens up next steps for using the model on an independent cohort of patients treated outside of Gustave Roussy, and if the results are confirmed through reliable information to clinicians, this AI tool will prove to be a valuable aid to therapeutic decisions, according to the study.

This article was initially published by our sister publication Pharmacy Times.

Artificial intelligence predicts the risk of recurrence for women with the most common breast cancer. EurekAlert! September 21, 2021. Accessed September 22, 2021. 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/929023

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They added that this is one of the first proofs of concept illustrating the power of an AI model for identifying parameters associated with relapse that the human brain could not detect.

Artificial intelligence can predict risk of recurrence for women with common breast cancer

The FDA has granted trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu, AstraZeneca/Daiichi Sankyo) Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) in the United States for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer who have received 1 or more prior anti-HER2-based regimens.

The designation was based on data from the DESTINY-Breast03 phase 3 trial, and this is now the second BTD for trastuzumab deruxtecan in breast cancer, bringing its total number of BTDs to 4, according to an AstraZeneca press release.

“This is an important step in bringing Enhertu as a potential new option in earlier lines of treatment for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, given the urgent need to improve outcomes,” said Susan Galbraith, executive vice president of oncology R&D at AstraZeneca, in the press release. “This recognition by the FDA underscores the transformative possibility of Enhertu seen with the remarkable DESTINY-Breast03 results presented at ESMO just two weeks ago.”

The DESTINY-Breast03 trial demonstrated a 72% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death compared to T-DM1 in patients with HER2-positive unresectable and/or metastatic breast cancer previously treated with trastuzumab and a taxane. The safety profile was consistent with previous clinical trials, with no new safety concerns identified and no grade 4 or 5 treatment-related interstitial lung disease events, according to the press release.

Trastuzumab deruxtecan is approved for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer who have received 2 or more prior anti-HER2-based regimens in the metastatic setting in the United States, Japan, the EU, and other countries. It is being further looked at in a comprehensive clinical development program that evaluates the efficacy and safety across multiple HER2-targetable cancers, including breast, gastric, lung, and colorectal cancers.

This article was initially published by our sister publication Pharmacy Times

1. Enhertu granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation in US for patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer treated with one or more prior anti-HER2-based regimens. AstraZeneca. October 4, 2021. Accessed October 4, 2021. 

https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2021/enhertu-granted-btd-for-breast-cancer.html

Jill Murphy

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Artificial intelligence can predict risk of recurrence for women with common breast cancer

FDA grants trastuzumab deruxtecan breakthrough therapy designation for breast cancer