BREAST CANCER

High rates of disease control were reported in the first set of results from a randomized trial in which adjuvant T-DM1 was compared to  trastuzumab and paclitaxel for the treatment of patients with early HER2-positive breast cancer.

Rita Nanda, MD, discusses the IMpower130 trial in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer who express PD-L1.

Patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who had received prior anti-HER2 therapies continued to experience a progression-free survival benefit with margetuximab and a trend toward overall survival compared with trastuzumab when either agent was combined with chemotherapy, according to updated findings from the phase III SOPHIA trial. 

In the phase III APHINITY trial, pertuzumab with trastuzumab plus chemotherapy demonstrated a 0.9% improvement in overall survival and continued to reduce the risk of disease recurrence in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer in the adjuvant setting, according to a 6-year analysis of the phase III APHINITY trial presented at the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

In the phase II HER2CLIMB trial, a 34% reduction in the risk of death was observed with the addition of tucatinib to the combination of trastuzumab and capecitabine in patients with heavily pretreated unresectable locally advanced or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer compared to the combination alone, according to results from the phase II HER2CLIMB trial presented at the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Japanese patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer had a significant improvement in invasive disease-free survival with the addition of the novel oral fluoropyrimidine derivative S-1, according to findings from the phase III POTENT trial presented at the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

In heavily pretreated patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer, trastuzumab deruxtecan induced a confirmed objective response rate of almost 61% and a durable benefit, according to results from the phase II DESTINY-Breast01 trial presented at the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

George W. Sledge, Jr., MD, professor of medicine, Stanford University Medical Center, discusses the next steps for the phase III MONARH-2 trail following the positive interim analysis results presented during the 2019 European Society of Medical Oncology Congress.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Massimo Cristofanilli, MD, discussed emerging treatment approaches for patients with ER-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer with an ESR1 mutation.

In patients whose solid<strong> </strong>tumors harbor a mutation in <em>KRAS </em>G12C, therapy with MRTX849 has produced promising responses and acceptable toxicity across 3 tumors types, according to data presented at the 2019 American Association for Cancer Research&ndash;National Cancer Institute&ndash;European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics.

Triple-negative breast cancer &mdash; defined as tumors that lack expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 amplification&mdash; is a heterogenous disease and clinically represents a major unmet need in the field of oncology. TNBC is associated with aggressive tumor biology and higher risk of recurrence and visceral metastasis, including brain metastasis.

Positive overall survival data from the phase II KATE-2 study were presented at the 2019 ESMO Annual Meeting. Leisha Emens, MD, shares the results.

Joyce A. O&rsquo;Shaughnessy, MD, led a group of physicians at a recent Targeted Oncology live case-based peer perspective event in discussion on emerging data that could affect treatment options for patients with triple-negative breast cancer in the future.

The early development of PARP inhibitors in 2003 focused on their use in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy agents, but this was eventually abandoned because of excess toxicity.

In October 2019, the FDA approved a new treatment option for patients with advanced ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer, as well as a new dosing regimen for patients receiving moderately emetogenic chemotherapy. Additionally, the FDA granted breakthrough therapy designations to 2 therapies, as well as an orphan drug designation, a priority review, and 2 fast track designations.

Hope S. Rugo, MD, discusses the potential role of immunotherapy for the treatment of patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), based on data from the KEYNOTE-522 clinical trial. Immunotherapy has been very exciting in this setting.

William Gradishar, MD, began his discussion at the 2019 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium by summarizing the improvements different modalities have brought to pCR rates in recent years.

An expanded treatment array that uses PARP inhibitors, antibody&ndash;drug conjugates, and inhibitors of the AKT and MEK pathways gives patients with triple-negative breast cancer reason for hope.

Updated breast cancer guidelines have led to clearer diagnosis and management protocols in the past 2 decades, making them a necessary tool to help oncologists stay current in the face of a rapidly evolving knowledge base. To address less common HER2 result patterns, updated guidelines are reclassifying these cases to either HER2-negative or -positive groupings.

Immunotherapy may become one of the most prevalent forms of therapy for breast cancer, explained Rita Nanda, MD, during a presentation at the 2019 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium.

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Hannah Linden, MD, discussed the current treatment landscape during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. She also highlighted the value of liquid biopsy, tissue biopsy, and imaging techniques in this space for identifying patients with targetable mutations and how these assays and techniques can further impact treatment and outcomes of these patients.

According to a statement from the FDA, the agency has issued a draft guidance proposing labeling recommendations for breast implant&nbsp;manufacturers that would help patients understand the benefits and risks of implants. The labeling recommendations would include the addition of a boxed warning.

An updated Biologics License Application has been submitted to the FDA for eflapegrastim for the treatment of neutropenia in patients with cancer receiving myelosuppression drugs, according to a press release from Spectrum Pharmaceuticals.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, at the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium, Susan Domchek, MD, explained the meaning of low to moderate penetrance genes and how they are indicative of breast cancer risk. She also explained the importance of germline and genetic testing to reveal mutations in these genes.&nbsp;

Margetuximab, an investigational monoclonal antibody, prolonged survival in pretreated patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer when combined with chemotherapy, according to the second interim analysis of the phase III SOPHIA trial, which was reported in a press release from MacroGenics.<br /> &nbsp;