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Sara A. Hurvitz

Sara Hurvitz is a breast cancer trialist who led DESTINY-Breast03, the trial where Enhertu beat Kadcyla.

Medical oncologist and principal investigator of DESTINY-Breast03 and many HER2-directed and CDK4/6 studies. Moved from UCLA to lead Fred Hutch's clinical research division in 2023.

Role
Senior Vice President and Director, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center; Head, Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Washington
Specialisms
Breast cancerHER2ADCs

Papers

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Key papers

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rctNew England Journal of Medicine 2024changed practice
NATALEE: three years of ribociclib after surgery in a broad population of hormone-receptor-positive early breast cancer

Ribociclib is a second adjuvant CDK4/6 option, and the only one with data in node-negative stage II disease. Roughly 3 in 100 patients avoid a relapse or death at three years, so the decision depends heavily on individual risk, tolerance of a three-year oral drug, and cost. Whether the benefit persists after treatment ends, as it did with abemaciclib, needs longer follow-up.

rctNew England Journal of Medicine 2022changed practice
DESTINY-Breast03: trastuzumab deruxtecan beats T-DM1 as second-line treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer

For HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer that has progressed after trastuzumab and a taxane, trastuzumab deruxtecan is now the standard second-line treatment and T-DM1 has moved later in the sequence. The benefit is large enough that ADC design, not just the target, is understood to be what matters. Patients need lung monitoring because of the risk of pneumonitis.

rctNew England Journal of Medicine 2021changed practice
ASCENT: sacituzumab govitecan doubles survival in heavily pretreated metastatic triple-negative breast cancer

Sacituzumab govitecan is a standard second-line or later treatment for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, roughly doubling survival compared with the chemotherapies it was tested against. Patients should expect neutropenia and diarrhoea, which are manageable with growth factor support and loperamide. Trials are now testing it earlier, in first-line combinations with pembrolizumab and after surgery for residual disease.

Connected

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