Dr. Bardia on the Rationale of Utilizing Endocrine Therapy in ER+ Breast Cancer

Aditya Bardia, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, attending physician, Medical Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses the use of endocrine therapy in estrogen receptor (ER)–positive breast cancer.

Better endocrine options remain an unmet need for patients with ER-positive breast cancer, particularly in the later settings, says Bardia. The treatment for both ER-positive breast cancer and ER-positive, metastatic breast cancer utilizes endocrine therapy, Bardia adds. The addition of a CDK4/6 inhibitor to endocrine therapy remains the recommended first-line treatment for this patient population, though patients eventually experience disease progression, Bardia explains.

Though endocrine therapy is recommended in the second- and third-line settings, response rates remain low with this treatment, Bardia continues. Fulvestrant (Faslodex) is the only selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) currently approved by the FDA, Bardia explains. However, since fulvestrant is administered as an intramuscular shot, researchers are interested in developing oral SERDs to create better endocrine therapy options for patients, Bardia concludes.