BREAST CANCER

Treatment with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog could potentially preserve fertility and protect ovarian function in premenopausal woman being treated with chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer, according to the results of a meta-analysis presented at the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Results of the phase III SOLD trial maintained the benefit of 12 months of adjuvant treatment with trastuzumab (Herceptin) for patients with early stage HER2-positive breast cancer, as the trial failed to demonstrate noninferiority for 9 weeks of trastuzumab versus the standard 1-year period, when added to chemotherapy. 

Disease-free survival  is maintained in women with postmenopausal hormone receptor-positive breast cancer treated with aromatase inhibitors, even when the treatment is only given for 2 years in comparison with the standard 5 years of additional aromatase inhibitor therapy, according to findings from the phase III ABCSG-16 trial presented at the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. 

Denise Yardley, MD, senior investigator, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, discusses the results from a recent phase II trial evaluating exemestane with or without enzalutamide in patients with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer.

Julie Nangia, MD, assistant professor of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, discusses getting genetic testing for patients. While the NCCN has guidelines of who should be tested, it may also be possible for physicians to write a letter of medical necessity for other people, such as Ashkenazi Jewish women, who have higher rates of BRCA mutations.

Early-stage breast cancer recurrence and mortality was reduced by shortening the intervals between chemotherapy cycles or administering the drugs sequentially compared with standard dosing techniques, according to meta-analysis results presented at the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Mothaffar F. Rimawi, MD, associate professor and director of clinical research at the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center at Baylor College of Medicine, discusses the NSABP B-47 study, which explored the value of trastuzumab (Herceptin) plus standard adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients with low levels of HER2 protein.

An overall disease control rate of 45% was achieved with sacituzumab govitecan (IMMU-132) therapy in patients with heavily pretreated metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC), according to updated findings of a study presented at the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS). 

In results from the phase Ib/II PANACEA trial presented at the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), the combination of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and trastuzumab (Herceptin) achieved an objective response rate (ORR) of 15.2% in patients with trastuzumab-resistant, PD-L1–positive, HER2-positive breast cancer.

Sir Richard Peto, FRS, a recognized pioneer in epidemiology and health statisticians, will be honored with the William L. McGuire Memorial Lecture Award at the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), to be held December 5 to 9 in San Antonio, Texas. The topic of his award lecture will be announced at a later date, according to a press release from SABCS.

Renowned scientist Ramon Parsons, MD, PhD, has been awarded an Outstanding Investigator Award (OIA) from the National Cancer Institute. The award guarantees $6.7 million for 7 years of research into the tumor-suppressing functions of the <em>PTEN</em> gene, which he discovered.

Laura J. van&rsquo;t Veer, PhD, discusses&nbsp;determining more accurate methods of treatment for patients with early- and late-stage breast cancer based on advances in genetic testing, specifically the 70-gene prognostic signature.

Lajos Pusztai, MD,&nbsp;discusses neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment decisions for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, as well as the potential of immunotherapy in the metastatic setting.<br /> &nbsp;

Adam M. Brufsky, MD, PhD, professor of Medicine, associate chief of Hematology/Oncology, co-director of the Comprehensive Breast Care Center, associate director of Clinical Investigation, University of Pittsburgh, discusses ovarian suppression and bone cancer management in breast cancer.

Richard S. Finn, MD, highlights the evolution of CDK 4/6 inhibition in the field of breast cancer and appropriate patient selection for this type of therapy.

Ribociclib (Kisqali) met its primary endpoint for progression-free survival (PFS) in premenopausal women with&nbsp;hormone-receptor (HR)&ndash;positive, HER2-negative (HR+/HER2-) advanced or metastatic breast cancer, according to topline results from the MONALEESA-7 trial, Novartis recently announced in a press release.

Richard S. Finn, MD, assistant professor of medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, discusses&nbsp;advances in the development of CDK4/6 inhibitors for the treatment of hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer. &nbsp; &nbsp;

Fulvestrant (Faslodex) has been approved by the FDA for use in combination with the CDK4/6 inhibitor abemaciclib (Verzenio) as a treatment for patients with HR+/HER2- advanced or metastatic breast cancer who have progressed after endocrine therapy.

Amultihistology basket study proved the targetability of the <em>AKT1 E17K</em> mutation in human cancers by treating patients with various types of cancer harboring an <em>AKT1 E17K </em>mutation with AZD5363, an oral pan-AKT inhibitor, according to findings published in the <em>Journal of Clinical Oncology</em>.

Massimo Cristofanilli, MD, professor of medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses overcoming resistance to endocrine therapy in ER+ breast cancer.

According to 10-year results from the TEAM study,

Mark E. Robson, MD, discusses the progress that has been seen in breast cancer care with the use of PARP inhibitors.

A supplemental New Drug Application for olaparib (Lynparza) has been granted a priority review by the FDA for the&nbsp;treatment of patients with germline <em>BRCA</em>-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who have previously received chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant, or metastatic settings,&nbsp;AstraZeneca and Merck, the co-developers of the PARP inhibitor, recently announced.

Ruth O&rsquo;Regan, MD, division head of Hematology and Oncology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, discusses treating premenopausal women with breast cancer.