Dr. Khong on the Potential Benefit of IO/Endocrine Therapy in ER+ Breast Cancer

Hung Khong, MD, a breast oncologist within the Chemical Biology and Molecular Medicine Program at Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses the potential benefit of combining immunotherapy with endocrine therapy in estrogen receptor (ER)–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer.

ER-positive breast cancer is thought to be less aggressive compared with HER2-positive breast cancer and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), Khong explains.

However, ER-positive breast cancer is associated with a longer risk of recurrence versus HER2-positive or, in particular, TNBC, Khong adds.

If patients with TNBC have not recurred after 5 years, it is rare that recurrence will occur. Conversely, patients with ER-positive disease have a steady risk of relapse up to 30 years after diagnosis, says Khong.

As such, combining immunotherapy with endocrine therapy may offer patients with ER-positive disease long-term disease control, concludes Khong.