Enhanced binding at fever temperatures of HER2 in complex with trastuzumab and pertuzumab.

Breast cancer patients may present fever due to the cancer itself, due to treatment with chemotherapy or monoclonal antibody therapy, or after surgery. In this work, the role of febrile temperatures on the activity of two of the most commonly used monoclonal antibodies for breast cancer treatment, trastuzumab and pertuzumab, was investigated. These therapeutic agents benefit from fever in terms of binding to their tumor target, particularly when both antibodies are deployed together, mirroring the clinical benefits of their dual therapy. These results are important because, in clinical practice, fever that accompanies treatment in cancer patients is usually eliminated. As such, further investigations into the positive role of fever-range temperatures in assisting antibody therapy for breast cancer are warranted.