ACCRU News & Releases – November 3, 2019

John Strickler, M.D., study chair for the Academic and Community Cancer Research (ACCRU) trial MOUNTAINEER (NCT03043313), recently presented initial trial results demonstrating the effectiveness of a combination therapy to treat patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2)-positive metastatic colorectal cancer.

At the ESMO Congress 2019 in Barcelona, Spain, Dr. Strickler, an oncologist practicing at Duke Cancer Institute, discussed how the combination of two therapies – tucatinib and trastuzumab – was well tolerated and generated significant anti-tumor responses in patients with HER2+ metastatic colorectal cancer while proving to be well tolerated. Tucatinib is a newly developed, highly selective oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor of the HER2 receptor.

“We are very impressed with initial results from this trial. The combination of tucatinib and trastuzumab is active in patients with HER2+ metastatic colorectal cancer, and could one day become a standard of care for this selective group of patients,” says Dr. Strickler.