To mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Institut Jules Bordet in Anderlecht has highlighted a major advancement in the fight against HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.
The final results of the international APHINITY study, presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2025 congress in Berlin, show that a dual-targeted therapy significantly improves long-term survival for patients whose cancer has spread from the breast to the lymph nodes.
The APHINITY study builds on a legacy that began in 2005 with the landmark HERA trial. Coordinated by the Institut Jules Bordet, HERA showed that adding trastuzumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting the HER2 protein, to standard chemotherapy cut the risk of relapse by 50% in HER2-positive breast cancer patients.
This historic moment, announced at the ASCO annual meeting to a packed audience of oncologists, marked the dawn of targeted therapy in this field and underscored the power of international scientific collaboration through the Breast International Group (BIG).
New progress
Two decades later, APHINITY continues this progress. The phase III study, also coordinated by Bordet and led by BIG, evaluated the effectiveness of a dual-targeted therapy combining trastuzumab and pertuzumab alongside chemotherapy in the adjuvant setting.
Eleven-year follow-up data confirm a significant benefit for patients with lymph node involvement, showing a 2% improvement in overall survival. While this figure may seem modest, its impact is profound: it means thousands of lives extended, years gained, and renewed hope for women facing this aggressive disease.
With nearly 9,000 women involved in HERA and APHINITY combined, these studies highlight how international cooperation and targeted therapy are reshaping the future of breast cancer care - offering both progress and hope.
