Adding trastuzumab to neoadjuvant chemoradiation for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-overexpressing oesophageal cancer does not improve disease-free survival, a phase III trial shows.

Although the monoclonal antibody did not lead to increased toxicities, the US researchers say the results highlight the need to continue evaluating new combinations of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-directed therapies.

Writing in The Lancet Oncology, the team randomly assigned 203 adults who were HER2-positive to chemoradiotherapy with or without trastuzumab, followed by surgery, to determine the efficacy of the added treatment over an average three years’ follow-up.

Median disease-free survival was 19.6 months with chemoradiotherapy plus trastuzumab compared with 14.2 months for chemoradiotherapy alone, a difference that was not statistically significant, the authors said.