From Mutation to Management: Practical Nursing Strategies in HER2-Mutant NSCLC

From Mutation to Management: Practical Nursing Strategies in HER2-Mutant NSCLC is organized by i3 Health.

Statement of Need:
Non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has seen significant advances in targeted therapy and immunotherapy in recent years, with human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) emerging as a target. Activating HER2 mutations in advanced NSCLC are a rare but important entity. Broad testing for HER2 mutations should be considered for all patients with NSCLC alongside testing for other actionable driver mutations. HER2-mutant NSCLC is now targetable with trastuzumab deruxtecan in addition to the recent approval of 2 HER2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), and several therapies are currently under development in clinical trials (NCCN, 2026). Oncology nurses play a critical role in care delivery, adverse event management, and patient education as HER2-targeted therapies enter the clinic. A comprehensive nursing understanding of HER2-targeted therapy mechanisms, administration, safety profiles, and patient education strategies is critical to maximizing treatment efficacy and improving patient outcomes (Sun et al, 2025). This Satellite Symposium at the 51st Annual Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Congress, held on May 14, 2026, at 6:00 pm CT, will explore practical nursing strategies in HER2-mutant NSCLC. It will feature perspectives from Zofia Piotrowska, MD, MHS, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Clinical Co-Director of the MGB Thoracic Medical Oncology Program at Massachusetts General Hospital; Victoria Sherry, DNP, ANP-BC, AOCNP®, Oncology Nurse Practitioner for Thoracic Malignancies at Penn Medicine Abramson Cancer Center and Advanced Senior Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing; and Soo-Ryum (Stewart) Yang, MD, Assistant Attending Pathologist and Co-Director of Clinical Biomarker Development in the Early Drug Development Service (Solid Tumor) at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. 

Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Explain the biologic role of HER2 in NSCLC and the distinctions among HER2 mutation, amplification, and overexpression
• Differentiate HER2-targeted treatment classes by mechanism, administration, and toxicity profile to anticipate nursing priorities in care delivery in patients with NSCLC
• Implement evidence-based care plans that incorporate shared decision making and adverse event monitoring for patients with HER2-mutant NSCLC
• Outline interprofessional, practical interventions that optimize patient care and adherence in NSCLC