Breast Cancer

Recommendations for screening patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer for signs of brain metastasis as a consequence of current rates of prevalence.

Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, highlights that although differences in overall survival and toxicity profile could inform treatment selection with CDK4/6 inhibitors, optimal sequencing with these agents remains uncertain.

Physicians treating patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer have had their share of wins with treatment advances in the past few years.

Moffitt Cancer Center is currently working to develop a host of novel therapeutic treatments within the breast cancer space, from immunotherapeutics to personalized cancer vaccines.

Neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment with CDK4/6 inhibitors has shown encouraging preliminary evidence in patients with estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, but confirmation of durable benefit is needed in the adjuvant setting before they are brought into routine clinical practice.

Dr. George and Dr. Hurley discuss the data generated from their study on the correlation between deleterious variants in genes and the development of hereditary breast and ovarian cancers in populations throughout the Caribbean.

Reva K. Basho, MD, discusses the evolution of therapeutic sequencing in HER2-positive breast cancer.

Leslie L. Montgomery, MD, and Tara M. Balija, MD, discuss the benefits of a novel reflector device in patients with breast cancer, its efficacy in identifying clipped axillary lymph nodes, and the potential future use of this device in other cancer types.

The role of genomic assays, including Oncotype DX as reported on in the RxPONDER trial, for the optimal management of early stage HR+ breast cancer is discussed.

Dr Mahtani and colleagues highlight key clinical trials such as DESTINY-Breast01, HER2CLIMB, NALA, and SOPHIA in the setting of advanced HER2-positive breast cancer and discuss the practical considerations of these data.

In the second segment, Dr Mahtani and colleagues discuss data from select clinical trials in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.

Aditya Bardia, MD, MPH, leads the discussion on the use of novel CDK4/6 inhibitors, BCL2 inhibitors, and oral SERDS for the treatment of HR+ metastatic breast cancer.

In the first segment, Dr Mahtani and colleagues outline challenges and remaining unmet needs in the management of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.

Advances in the diagnosis and treatment of early-stage breast cancer highlight the need for clinicians to adapt to paradigm shifts that will have notable effects on patient care.

The addition of pembrolizumab to chemotherapy resulted in a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival vs chemotherapy alone in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer whose tumors had a PD-L1 expression of a combined positive score of 10 or higher, meeting the primary end point of the phase 3 KEYNOTE-355 trial.

Options available to treat patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer following frontline therapy with T-DM1.

The FDA has approved pembrolizumab for the treatment of patients with high-risk, early-stage triple-negative breast cancer in combination with chemotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment and then continued as a single agent as adjuvant treatment after surgery.

Variables that breast oncologists need to consider when selecting an appropriate systemic treatment approach for a patient with HER2-positive breast cancer.

William Gradishar, MD, discusses factors to consider when determining the optimal treatment of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.

Roche Registration GmbH has withdrawn its application to extend the use of atezolizumab to the treatment of patients with early or locally advanced triple-negative breast cancer in Europe.

Lisa A. Carey, MD, FASCO, discusses the phase 3 monarchE trial in hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer.

Completion of treatment options such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation within 38 weeks from a diagnosis with breast cancer was associated with improved survival in this population.

Mark E. Sherman, MD, discusses research efforts evaluating immune responses and risk of TNBC and implications for higher rates of disease among African American women.

William Gradishar, MD, discusses the significance of drug development in HER2-positive breast cancer.

Andrew D. Seidman, MD; Aditya Bardia, MD, MPH; Dejan Juric, MD; Nicholas McAndrew, MD, MSCE; and Hope S. Rugo, MD, review the optimal management of adverse events associated with alpelisib in HR+ metastatic breast cancer.

Breast cancer experts comment on whether there is a benefit to switching to or continuing on CDK4/6 inhibitors with disease progression for HR+ metastatic breast cancer and discuss the use of tamoxifen for third-line endocrine therapy.

Ricardo Costa, MD, MSc, discusses ongoing research efforts in triple-negative breast cancer.

The CCR5 antagonist leronlimab plus carboplatin was shown to result in a 72% decrease in cancer-associated macrophage-like cells, which was linked with an approximate 450% increase in overall survival in 30 patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.

Breast oncologists discuss the pros and cons of treating patients with HER2-postive breast cancer with the fixed-dose subcutaneous formulation of pertuzumab plus trastuzumab compared with IV chemotherapy.

Best practices for preventing and managing treatment-related adverse events associated with systemic therapies used to treat HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.