Developing Treatment for Invasive Lobular Carcinoma

Steffi Oesterreich, PhD, professor and vice chair of Precision and Translational Pharmacology, University of Pittsburgh, discusses developing treatment for patients with invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC).

Patients with ILC are usually treated the same as patients with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), says Oesterreich. Recent data have indicated mechanisms in ILC that differ from IDC, and Oesterreich says that the next step with this information is to identify pathways that are uniquely targetable in ILC.

Clinically, there are differences such as metastatic patterns, as metastases to liver and lung are decreased in ILC compared to IDC, and there are increases in metastases to unique sites like the ovaries and peritoneal. Additionally, imaging does not work as well in ILC, says Oesterreich.

Sequencing and genetic profiling these tumors may identify pathways and provide the opportunity to target them, Oesterreich adds.