Cancer

A New Option for Advanced Breast Cancer: Understanding Sacituzumab Govitecan

Heather Mantica

— 3 min read
A New Option for Advanced Breast Cancer: Understanding Sacituzumab Govitecan
Article Pictures (5)

Breast cancer is not all the same. Some types are harder to treat than others. One of the toughest forms is called triple-negative breast cancer. A new medicine, sacituzumab govitecan, offers hope for patients whose cancer has spread and stopped responding to other treatments.

What is Triple-Negative Breast Cancer?

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a type of breast cancer that does not have three common markers doctors usually test for:

  • Estrogen receptor (ER)
  • Progesterone receptor (PR)
  • HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2)

Because it lacks these markers, TNBC cannot be treated with hormone therapies or HER2-targeted drugs. This makes it more difficult to treat than other breast cancers. TNBC often grows quickly, spreads earlier, and has fewer treatment options. It makes up about 15–20% of all breast cancers.

For people whose TNBC spreads to other parts of the body (metastatic TNBC), chemotherapy has traditionally been the main option. Unfortunately, chemotherapy often works only for a short time, and the cancer usually returns. That’s why researchers are studying new kinds of treatments.

What is Sacituzumab Govitecan?

Sacituzumab govitecan is part of a newer group of cancer medicines called antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). These drugs are designed to deliver chemotherapy directly to cancer cells while sparing more healthy cells.

It works in three parts:

  1. The antibody: Targets a protein called Trop-2, found in high amounts on TNBC cells.
  2. The linker: Acts like a bridge, connecting the antibody to the drug.
  3. The payload: A chemotherapy drug (SN-38) that kills the cancer cells once it’s delivered inside.

This design helps focus treatment on the cancer cells and may reduce some of the side effects seen with traditional chemotherapy. Sacituzumab govitecan was first approved in 2020 for patients with advanced TNBC who had already tried other treatments.

What Did the Research Discover?

This study looked at how sacituzumab govitecan works in everyday medical practice.  The study was conducted in Italy, outside of strict clinical trials.

  • Methods: The researchers collected information from seven cancer centers. They included women aged 18 and older who had metastatic TNBC and had already been treated with at least two rounds of chemotherapy. They looked at safety, side effects, and how well the treatment controlled the cancer.
  • How many people were studied: 57 patients were included. The median age was 53, and most had cancer that had already spread to areas like the lymph nodes, lungs, bones, or liver.
  • Results:
    • Effectiveness:
      • Tumor shrinkage (partial response) in about 33% of patients.
      • Stable disease in 28%.
      • Cancer progression in 39%.
    • Survival:
      • The average time before the cancer grew again (progression-free survival) was 4.9 months.
      • The average overall survival was 12.4 months.
    • Side effects: The most common were anemia (low red blood cells), hair loss, neutropenia (low white blood cells), nausea, and diarrhea. Serious side effects were mainly neutropenia. Some patients needed dose reductions, but only a few had to stop treatment completely.

Overall, the study showed that sacituzumab govitecan works in the real world much like it did in earlier clinical trials, even in patients with harder-to-treat cancers.

How Can I Apply This Information?

This was a research study, not a new treatment guideline, but it gives important insights for patients and doctors. The study was meant to see if real world use compares to the results that were seen in clinical trials.  Important takeaways:

  • Sacituzumab govitecan has been approved by the FDA for TNBC.  It is considered  a helpful option for people with advanced TNBC who have already tried other treatments.
  • The medicine can control cancer growth and extend survival for many patients and was confirmed even in this study which was  real-world use.
  • Side effects are common, but they can often be managed with supportive care and dose adjustments.

For patients and families, this means that new hope is available even when standard treatments have stopped working. If you or a loved one has advanced TNBC, talk to your oncologist about whether sacituzumab govitecan could be an option, or whether joining a clinical trial may be right for you.The bottom line: this research adds to the growing evidence that sacituzumab govitecan is an effective and safe treatment for advanced triple-negative breast cancer.

Source:

Caputo R, Buono G, Michela Piezzo, Martinelli C, Cianniello D, Rizzo A, et al. Sacituzumab Govitecan for the treatment of advanced triple negative breast cancer patients: a multi-center real-world analysis. Frontiers in Oncology. 2024 Mar 26;14. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11002149/

‌

Read more