Researchers have developed a digital education activity that has been shown to improve clinician understanding of the relationship between HER2/HER3 expression, pathophysiology across tumor types, and applications of emerging targeted therapies in the setting of gastric, breast, and lung cancers.

Details about this activity will be presented by Tariqa Ackbarali, MS, PhDc, PlatformQ Health, LLC, Needham, Massachusetts, and colleagues at the virtual 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.

“Improved understanding of the interactions between HER2 and HER3, the heterogeneity of HER-expressing disease, and mechanisms of resistance to anti-HER2 therapy has led to increasing number of treatment options to address clinical needs,” Dr Ackbarali and co-investigators explained.

The focus of their research was on tumors impacted by HER2/HER3 expression among patients with breast cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), gastric cancer, and colorectal cancer (CRC).

“Increasing competency in these areas is deemed critical to clinician’s ability to individualize treatment plans and improve patient outcomes,” the researchers said.

First launched in September 2020, the 2-hour educational activity addressing HER2/HER3, testing guidelines, resistance mechanisms, and emerging data across NSCLC, gastric cancer, and CRC.

“Knowledge and competence questions were administered pre-, immediate post-, and 2 months post-activity. Behavioral impact questions were also asked at follow-up. Data from these questions were analyzed to determine engagement and clinical impact,” Dr Ackbarali et al explained.

Thus far, 448 clinicians have participated in the activity, and findings have shown improvements in knowledge and competence in the clinical applications of HER2-directed agents and HER3 antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), and adverse event management for HER2 ADCs.

Approximately 70% clinicians reported improved behavioral impact on both clinical practice and patient experience and outcomes at 2 months’ follow-up. In addition, clinicians offered up specific examples of these changes, noting improved patient-reported outcomes, treatment adherence, and competence developing treatment plans.

“The activity was successful in improving clinician understanding of the relationship between HER2/HER3, pathophysiology across tumor types, and applications of emerging targeted therapies,” Dr Ackbarali and colleagues said.

“Open-ended responses to behavioral impact questions illustrated clear improvements in clinician-reported patient experience and outcomes, clinical practice management, and knowledge of emerging HER2/HER3 therapies and their uses across multiple solid tumors,” they concluded.

This program is still available on-demand through September 2021 at OMedLive.com.—Hina Porcelli

Ackbarali T, Turell W, del Nido EL, et al. Incorporating HER2/HER3 targeted therapies across solid tumors: Assessing the impact of digital education on clinician practice patterns. Presented at: the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting; June 4-8, 2021; virtual. Abstract 11036.