Dr. Graff Underscores Unmet Needs in ESR1-Mutated Breast Cancer

Stephanie L. Graff, MD, director of the Breast Program at the Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute of HCA Midwest Health and associate director of the Breast Cancer Research Program at Sarah Cannon Research Institute, discusses some unmet needs of patients with ESR1-mutated metastatic breast cancer.

In the ER-positive space, patients with ESR1 mutations may not experience the same degree of benefit with fulvestrant (Faslodex) as other patients might, after they have progressed on either an aromatase inhibitor (AI) or an AI plus a CDK4/6 inhibitor, says Graff. Typically, this means that the patient will have a shorter duration of response to their second line of treatment or that they should be transitioned over to systemic chemotherapy, she explains.

Due to the increased toxicity associated with chemotherapy, Graff says that a main focus in this space is to keep patients on estrogen blockade for as long as possible. Bearing this in mind, further exploration into estrogen-based therapies for ESR1-mutated patients is needed, she concludes.