Prevalence of treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) with antibody-drug conjugates in metastatic breast cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are revolutionizing metastatic breast cancer treatment, resulting in a better prognosis and a higher safety profile than chemotherapy. Nevertheless, treatment-related adverse events (TRAE) have been extensively documented. We searched five databases for articles published up to December 2023 and conducted a meta-analysis on 23 clinical trials to estimate TRAE prevalence related to currently approved ADCs.

The prevalence of the most common TRAEs ranged from 12 % to 33 %, depending on the ADC type and study design. Gastrointestinal disorders were highly prevalent during Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, general disorders were extremely common during Trastuzumab Emtansine, and blood system disorders and gastrointestinal disorders were the most prevalent during Sacituzumab Govitecan.

This study provides an estimate of ADC-related TRAEs for each treatment based on study design. Despite each ADC having specific toxicities, gastrointestinal symptoms were highly prevalent in all treatments. This study lays the groundwork for developing personalized risk-stratified care pathways.