Breast Cancer

While radiotherapy can be an effective treatment for early-stage breast cancer, incidental irradiation of the heart during treatment may increase the risk of developing ischemic heart disease.

With increasing use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in early-stage breast cancer, controversy has erupted regarding the optimal timing of sentinel lymph node biopsy.

Abigail S. Caudle, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Surgical Oncology, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, gives an overview of two trials in breast cancer.

The key to advancements in chemotherapy treatment for patients with metastatic breast cancer most likely will come through a better understanding of their underlying tumor biology.

Anees Chagpar, MD, MSc, MA, MPH, from the Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven, discusses the evolution of surgery as a treatment for patient with metastatic breast cancer.

Fabrice Andre, MD, PhD, from the Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France, gives an overview of methods for improving the effectiveness of genomic alteration testing in clinical trials that explore novel targeted agents in breast cancer.

J. Michael Dixon, MBChB, MD, discusses the need for physicians to inform patients of the pros and cons before having a mastectomy.

The question of whether it should be legal to patent genes has reached the US Supreme Court, and the impending decision by the highest federal court in the country could significantly transform the current research landscape.

José Baselga, MD, PhD, Physician-in-Chief, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, discusses everolimus and the upcoming data from the BOLERO-3 trial in breast cancer.

Clinical trials are under way that may change the way risk of recurrence is assessed for early-stage breast cancer patients, allowing for individualization of therapy.

J. Michael Dixon, MD, describes a number of effective options for clinicians to help patients better manage menopausal symptoms in patients with breast cancer and improve their quality of life.

Emanuel F. Petricoin III, PhD, Co-Director, Center for Applied Proteomics & Molecular Medicine, Professor of Life Sciences, George Mason University, discusses disease screening with biomarkers.

A review of several studies examining the long-term benefits of breast-conservation therapy compared with mastectomy for women with stage breast cancer.

George W. Sledge, Jr, MD, Chief, Division of Oncology, Professor of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, defines a "smart" cancer.

Debu Tripathy, MD, co-leader, Women's Cancer Program, University of Southern California Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses maintenance therapy for patients with breast cancer.

An interview with José Baselga, MD, PhD, who helped to develop new drugs and combination therapies for the treatment of breast cancer, including the early targeted therapy trastuzumab and the more recent pertuzumab.

Martine Piccart, MD, PhD, director of medicine at the Jules Bordet Institute in Brussels, Belgium, gives an overview of the IMPAKT conference.

The drug palbociclib (formerly known as PD-0332991) has received has received a "breakthrough therapy designation" from the FDA for the treatment of patients with breast cancer.

Laura Esserman, MD, MBA, Professor, University of California, San Francisco, comments on the findings from the I-SPY 1 trial and the basis for the I-SPY 2 trial in patients with breast cancer.

José Baselga, MD, PhD, explores the dual inhibition of cell-signaling pathways in breast cancer on several fronts, including new therapies for patients with the HER2-positive subtype and novel ways to target mTOR and the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway.

Patrick Borgen, MD, chair, Department of Surgery, director, Maimonides Breast Cancer Center, discusses the patents on BRCA1 and BRCA2.

Lisa A. Carey, MD, Professor of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discusses the use of everolimus in the metastatic and adjuvant settings of breast cancer.

George W. Sledge, Jr, MD, Chief, Division of Oncology, Professor of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, discusses the lasting issues in the treatment of breast cancer.

Hyman B. Muss, MD, Professor of Medicine, Director of Geriatric Oncology, Division of Hematology and Oncology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, discusses the need for a team environment when treating an older patient.

Fabrice Andre, MD, PhD, Research Director, Head of INSERM Unit U981, Institut National des Sciences et de la Recherche Médicale, Associate Professor, Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France, discusses upcoming research in metastatic breast cancer.

José Baselga, MD, PhD, Physician-in-Chief, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, discusses treatment with PIK3CA inhibitors in patients with breast cancer.

Emanuel F. Petricoin III, PhD, Co-Director, Center for Applied Proteomics & Molecular Medicine, Professor of Life Sciences, George Mason University, discusses tumor heterogeneity in patients with breast cancer.

Martine Piccart, MD, PhD, director of medicine at the Jules Bordet Institute in Brussels, Belgium, discusses the development of metagene prognostic signatures for patients with breast cancer.

Mark D. Pegram, MD, from the Stanford Cancer Institute, describes research into the antibody-drug conjugate T-DM1, following its FDA approval in February as a treatment for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

J. Michael Dixon, MBChB, MD, Professor of Surgery, Consultant Surgeon, University of Edinburgh, Clinical Director of the Edinburgh Breast Unit, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, Scotland, discusses the discrepancy in the rate of mastectomies.