Baseline peripheral blood immune markers associated with clinical outcomes in patients with advanced breast cancer treated with trastuzumab deruxtecan.
A simple blood count before starting advanced breast cancer treatment might identify who will benefit most, helping doctors match patients with therapies they're likely to respond to.
This retrospective single-center study evaluates pre-treatment peripheral blood immune markers (ALC, NLR, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio) as predictors of clinical outcomes in 126 advanced breast cancer patients receiving trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), one of the most transformative oncology agents of recent years. Low ALC and high NLR remained independently associated with inferior TTF and OS in multivariate analyses, suggesting these routine CBC-derived metrics could help identify patients less likely to benefit from T-DXd before treatment initiation.
What the study was
- Study design
- retrospective_cohort
- Population
- Advanced breast cancer patients receiving T-DXd, single center
- Sample size
- 126
- Category
- Treatment Innovation
- Maturity
- Exploratory
- Journal
- BMC Cancer
Why it surfaced
T-DXd is a paradigm-shifting ADC now approved across multiple HER2-expressing solid tumors; peripheral blood markers (ALC, NLR) from routine CBC directly intersect with Pulse/hematology focus; open-access BMC Cancer study; clinical utility potential if validated prospectively.
A plain-language summary of published research — not medical advice. Talk to a clinician about your own care.