Dr. O'Shaughnessy on Phosphoprotein Assays for Treatment Decision-Making for Breast Cancer

Joyce A. O'Shaughnessy, MD, Texas Oncology-Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center, discusses what recent research has shown regarding phosphoprotein assays in treatment decision-making for patients with breast cancer.

It has been interesting to use phosphoprotein assays in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who are refractory to treatment, O’Shaughnessy says. In matching genomics with phosphoprotein assays in TNBC with PI3K mutations, researchers have observed a phosphoprotein pattern in activation of the MAPK pathway through EGFR. This could potentially lead to new treatment for this subgroup of patients, O’Shaughnessy explains.

In recent cases of patients with refractory TNBC and high levels of phosphorylated EGFR who were treated with investigational agents, O’Shaughnessy says their EGFR became obsolete and their disease turned chemotherapy-sensitive.