Press release
Aphinity trial: New Progress in the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer
Brussels, 4th of June 2025 – The final results of the APHINITY international trial, presented at the ESMO 2025 congress in Berlin, show that a targeted dual therapy significantly improves the long term survival of patients with HER2-positive breast cancers with lymph node positivity. The Jules Bordet Institute, through its Clinical Trials Center and commitment within the Breast International Group (BIG), is proud to have contributed to this new stage in the development of tomorrow’s medicine.
2005 – HERA, a major turning point in the history of oncology
It was in 2005 that the ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) annual congress saw the face of oncology change. It was on this occasion that the HERA (HERceptin Adjuvant) trial, coordinated by the Jules Bordet Institute, revealed its historic results: the addition to chemotherapy of trastuzumab (Herceptin®), a monoclonal antibody that targets the HER2 protein, reduces by 50% the risk of a recurrence of HER2-positive breast cancer among patients. This moment of intense emotion, welcomed by a hall full of ecstatic professionals, marked the birth of the first targeted therapy in this indication. The trial, carried out among 5,000 European women, also permitted the BIG (Breast International Group) to highlight the strength of the international scientific cooperation to which the Jules Bordet Institute had been committed from the outset.
2025 – APHINITY, the successor to HERA, continues the progress
Twenty years later, at the ESMO congress in Berlin, the final results of the APHINITY trial build on this hope. This phase 3 trial, also piloted by the BIG and coordinated by the Bordet Institute, evaluated the effectiveness of a targeted dual therapy (trastuzumab and pertuzumab) administered as a complement to chemotherapy as adjuvant treatment. The data at 11 years confirm a significant benefit for patients whose HER2-positive cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. The overall survival is improved with a 2% gain in favour of the dual therapy. Although an apparently modest figure, it translates into a major impact on the scale of this frequent pathology with thousands of lives prolonged, years won and hope renewed.
A continuous commitment for patients
These two trials, involving almost 9,000 women in all, illustrate the concrete impact of collaborative clinical research. Thanks to its Clinical Trials Center, for more than two decades the Jules Bordet Institute has been committed to providing patients with access to the most innovative treatments within a rigorous and ethical scientific framework.
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Louis Dijon
