International variation in diagnostic and treatment practices in patients with HER2+ EBC: The RWE PEARL-HER2 study.
517 Background: Pts with HER2+ EBC achieving pCR post neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) with trastuzumab (H) and pertuzumab (P) show favorable outcomes. Yet, management varies widely within healthcare systems, including access to continuation of adjuvant (adj) P. We compared diagnostic and treatment practices across countries. Methods: PEARL-HER2 is an international retrospective real-world cohort including pts with HER2+ EBC achieving pCR (ypT0/isN0) after NACT-HP (Jan 2014 to Dec 2023). This descriptive preliminary analysis (data cut-off Jan-2026) summarizes diagnostic and treatment data stratified by country. Results: 1345 pts with pCR were included. Significant heterogeneity in pts and disease characteristics was observed (Table 1). Diagnostic methods also varied: use of breast MRI ranged from 11-97% across countries (>85% in Spain/Portugal; Peru, 11%), while FDG-PET/CT ranged from 0-72% (overall 20%; Turkey, 72%; p<0.001). Anthracycline-based NACT varied from <20% in Argentina and Brazil to >85% in Portugal and Turkey (p<0.001). Adj P was administered to 33% of pts overall (0-97%; p<0.001), with high use in countries with public reimbursement and minimal in those without. Among ER+ pts, ET use was uniformly high (98%; p=0.590), but regimen selection varied substantially (p<0.001): tamoxifen (42%) and aromatase inhibitor (58%). Events occurred in 6% of pts (invasive/non-invasive relapses and death); median FU was 40 months (IQR 24–62). Conclusions: This analysis indicates marked cross-country variability in management of HER2+ EBC. Use of adj P closely aligned with national reimbursement policies, highlighting access as a major determinant of care beyond clinical risk and guideline recommendations. Characteristics Argentina (N=155) Belgium (N=217) Brazil (N=107) Italy (N=52) Peru (N=18) Portugal (N=603) Spain (N=110) Turkey (N=83) Total (N=1345) P-value Age, median (IQR) 47 (41–56) 54 (45–63) 46 (40–52) 53 (45–61) 45 (41–56) 52 (45–62) 53 (44–59) 51 (45–61) 51 (43–61) <0.001 Pre-/perimenop., n (%) 96 (62) 91 (43) 72 (72) 26 (50) 13 (72) 286 (48) 52 (48) 38 (46) 674 (51) <0.001 NST histology, n (%) 145 (95) 197 (91) 89 (83) 48 (94) 18 (100) 558 (93) 103 (95) 83 (100) 1241 (93) <0.001 ER–, n (%) 77 (50) 95 (44) 61 (58) 16 (31) 5 (28) 277 (46) 57 (52) 44 (53) 632 (47) <0.001 cN0, n (%) 58 (37) 28 (13) 43 (40) 24 (46) 2 (11) 267 (44) 50 (46) 21 (25) 493 (37) <0.001 Breast MRI | PET-CT, n (%) 123 (80) | 14 (9) 126 (58) | 63 (29) 73 (71) | 27 (26) 13 (25) | 13 (25) 2 (11) | 0 (0) 521 (86) | 70 (12) 102 (97) | 21 (19) 35 (42) | 60 (72) 995 (75) | 268 (20) <0.001 | <0.001 Anthracycline-based NACT, n (%) 19 (12)</
Authors
- Soraia Lobo-Martins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5847-7192)
- Guilherme Vilhais
- H Wildiers
- Zaida Morante (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9725-9278)
- Marisa Carvalho Couto
- Paulus Kristanto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1657-5250)
- Helena Gouveia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0841-194X)
- Eline Naert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1508-7263)
- Camila Bobato Lara Gismondi
- Marianna Sirico (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2536-3858)
- Tiago Pina-Cabral
- Sérgio Rivero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7723-2497)
- Tatiana Cunha Pereira
- Gabriella Gentile
- Evandro de Azambuja
- Jean-Luc Canon
- Devrim Çabuk
- Martine J. Piccart-Gebhart
- Marta González Rodríguez
- Elsa Filipa Campoa
Institutions
- Champalimaud Foundation (PT)
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE)
- Instituto Português de Oncologia de Coimbra Francisco Gentil (PT)
- Universitair Ziekenhuis Leuven (BE)
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein (BR)
- Ghent University Hospital (BE)
- Institut Jules Bordet (BE)
- Hospital de São João (PT)
- Instituto Argentino de Diagnóstico y Tratamiento (AR)
- Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IT)
- Administração Regional de Saúde de Lisboa e Vale do Tejo (PT)
- CUF Porto Hospital (PT)
- Cancer Clinic (US)
- Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplásicas (PE)
- Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Ocidental (PT)
- Grand Charleroi Hospital (BE)
- Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IT)
- Kocaeli Üniversitesi (TR)
- University of Algarve (PT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Clinical Oncology
- Published
- 2026-05-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2026.44.16_suppl.517
- Primary Topic
- HER2/EGFR in Cancer Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00