Comparison of Targeted Therapy vs. Chemotherapy in Managing HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Historically HER2-positive breast cancer demanded chemotherapy because of its aggressive nature although new targeted treatments show promise. Today targeted therapies including trastuzumab and pertuzumab with combined use of lapatinib now offer substantial advancements for better patient results. The measurement of target therapy's treatment excellence as well as safety profile against chemotherapy stands essential so healthcare professionals can develop optimal treatment frameworks.

Objectives: A systematic review examines the effectiveness between targeted therapy treatment options versus chemotherapy in managing HER2-positive breast cancer. This analysis investigates treatment effectiveness alongside survival statistics together with response rates and adverse effect data.

Methodology: The research included a systematic database search across PubMed and Scopus and Web of Science databases for studies published within 2018 to 2024. This review analyzes six key clinical trials and meta-analyses which investigated targeted therapy against chemotherapy published within the last two years. The research criteria included both randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies that focused on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) measurements as well as toxicity examinations. The research team performed qualitative data extraction followed by analysis.

Results: The research demonstrated how specifically-targeted monoclonal antibodies and tyrosine kinase inhibitors produced enhanced OS and PFS for patients in contrast to single-agent chemotherapy treatment. Publications document that patients experienced better results with trastuzumab and pertuzumab dual blockade therapy in early cases and advanced metastatic disease. When other treatments proved ineffective against patients trastuzumab deruxtecan showed elevated therapeutic benefits. Targeted therapies continued to bring new complications like heart damage and gut-related side effects which required active patient assessments and appropriate therapy selection.

Conclusion: HER2-positive breast cancer treatment has received a major transformation from targeted therapies which deliver superior response and tolerance than standard chemotherapy formulations. The adoption of targeted therapies needs to follow individual patient factors as well as cancer stage and previous therapy experiences. Plans for future research involve building more effective combination therapeutic approaches alongside developing biomarkers useful for individualized care.