Opinion
Video
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Two oncologists present the clinical scenario of a 57-year-old woman with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer to discuss their approach for incorporating recent research into clinical decision making around systemic therapy.
The video opens with Laura Spring, a breast medical oncologist from Mass General Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School, welcoming viewers to a program on interpreting the latest data for breast cancer treatment approaches. She introduces her colleague, Dr. Manali Bhave, a breast medical oncologist from Emory University and director of the phase one unit.
Bhave presents a hypothetical patient case of a 57-year-old healthy woman diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma in her left breast after a 4cm mass was found on mammogram. The tumor was estrogen, progesterone and HER2 positive with an IHC of 3+. Scans revealed metastatic disease with three 3cm liver lesions and a solitary lung lesion. A liver biopsy confirmed metastatic triple positive breast cancer.
The patient received 6 cycles of docetaxel, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab (THP) followed by maintenance HP. She had a good response with the breast mass shrinking and complete resolution of the liver lesions initially. However, after some time on maintenance HP, she progressed with recurrence of 3 new liver lesions, though her liver enzyme levels remained normal.
Bhave and Spring proceed to discuss how they would approach treating this patient's recurrent metastatic HER2+ breast cancer, incorporating the latest clinical data and pivotal trials in their decision-making process. The case illustrates their real-world application of recent research advances.
This summary was AI-generated and edited for clarity.