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4 treatment settings, 3 with more than one named option. Each section lays out the options the standard of care names, what each is for, the trials behind them with their recorded results, the side effects and cautions on record, and questions to ask. Built from the cancer page's standard-of-care rows; nothing here is advice for your case.
Trastuzumab with a platinum and a fluoropyrimidine (ToGA), plus pembrolizumab when PD-L1 CPS is 1 or above (KEYNOTE-811).
The first targeted antibody for a solid tumour (1998), which turned HER2-positive breast cancer from the worst subtype into one of the most treatable.
Pembrolizumab is a PD-1 blocking antibody approved in more than 40 settings, from melanoma and lung cancer to the first tumour-agnostic approval for mismatch-repair-deficient tumours in 2017, and before and after surgery in triple-negative breast cancer. A subcutaneous form arrived in 2025, and it is the backbone partner for ADCs and personalised neoantigen vaccines.
Cisplatin is the original platinum chemotherapy, discovered by accident in 1965; it cures testicular cancer and makes radiation work better in cervical and head and neck cancer.
The platinum drug that works in bowel cancer where cisplatin does not, the 'OX' in FOLFOX and CAPOX; its cost is nerve damage in hands and feet.
Capecitabine (Xeloda) is a tablet form of the chemotherapy fluorouracil. It is a backbone of treatment for bowel cancer and a standard option in advanced breast cancer.
The 1957 chemotherapy that remains the backbone of treatment for bowel, stomach, pancreatic, anal, head and neck and breast cancers, and as a cream for skin precancers.
OS 13.8 vs 11.1 months, HR 0.74.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Hypothyroidism (immune-mediated) · Pooled monotherapy data, >2,800 patients | 8% | - |
| Pneumonitis (immune-mediated) · Pooled monotherapy data, >2,800 patients | 3.4% | - |
| Colitis (immune-mediated) · Pooled monotherapy data, >2,800 patients | 1.7% | - |
| Hepatitis (immune-mediated) · Pooled monotherapy data, >2,800 patients | 0.7% | - |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Trastuzumab deruxtecan (DESTINY-Gastric01 and DESTINY-Gastric04); ramucirumab with paclitaxel where the conjugate is unavailable.
Trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu) is the most successful ADC ever. It redefined HER2 by working in tumours with only tiny amounts of the protein, and in 2026 moved into early-stage breast cancer.
An antibody that blocks the VEGF receptor, approved in liver cancer only for patients with a high AFP blood level, the first biomarker-selected HCC drug.
A microtubule poison discovered in the Pacific yew tree, among the most used chemotherapies in breast, lung, and ovarian cancer.
OS 14.7 vs 11.4 months, HR 0.70.
| Side effect | Any grade | Grade 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Neutropenia · DESTINY-Breast03/04; all-grade rates ≥20% per label | - | 18% |
| Nausea · DESTINY-Breast03/04; all-grade rates ≥20% per label | - | 7% |
| Anaemia · DESTINY-Breast03/04; all-grade rates ≥20% per label | - | 7% |
| Fatigue · DESTINY-Breast03/04; all-grade rates ≥20% per label | - | 6% |
Rates from the label or pivotal trial as recorded on the product page; each grade 3+ figure links to its source.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Trifluridine-tipiracil; trials of zanidatamab and other HER2 agents.
An oral chemotherapy pill for bowel cancer that has stopped responding to everything else; with bevacizumab it extends life by about three months.
Zanidatamab (Ziihera) is an antibody that grabs HER2 at two different spots, approved for HER2+ bile duct cancer.
PFS 12.4 vs 8.1 months (HR 0.63-0.65); OS significantly improved.
No side-effect rates or interaction flags are recorded for these options yet. The side-effect lookup and interaction checker cover the products that have them.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.
Perioperative FLOT and gastrectomy as for HER2-negative disease; adding HER2 therapy before surgery is unproven.
FLOT is the four-drug chemotherapy given before and after surgery for stomach cancer in the West; since 2025 immunotherapy is added to it.
No trial record is attached to this row yet. The trials tab lists what is recruiting and the landmark trials for this cancer.
No side-effect rates or interaction flags are recorded for these options yet. The side-effect lookup and interaction checker cover the products that have them.
Add these to your appointment list, or take the full question set for this cancer.