BREAST CANCER

Neoadjuvant Therapy for HER2+ Early Breast Cancer

A look back at all the FDA news that occurred in the month of September.

A supplemental biologics license application for pertuzumab (Perjeta) for use in combination with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and chemotherapy for the adjuvant treatment of patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer has been granted a priority review by the FDA. 

Abemaciclib (Verzenio) has been approved by the FDA for use as a monotherapy and in a combination regimen for patients with HR-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer. As a monotherapy, the CDK4/6 inhibitor has been approved for patients with metastatic disease who have previously received endocrine therapy and chemotherapy, and as a combination, abemaciclib has been approved for use with fulvestrant for women with advanced breast cancer with disease progression following endocrine therapy.

Gunter von Minckwitz, MD, PhD, president of the German Breast Group in Neu-Isenburg, Germany, discusses questions still surrounding the optimal duration of pertuzumab (Perjeta) treatment for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.

Eleftherios (Terry) P. Mamounas, MD, discusses whether 10 years is superior to the widely practiced 5 years of adjuvant hormone therapy in patients with breast cancer.

Investigators recently evaluated the genetic profiles of 160 breast and ovarian cancers associated with germline mutations in <em>BRCA1 </em>and <em>BRCA2 </em>and<em>&nbsp;</em>determined that there is a relationship between the genetics of <em>BRCA</em>1/2 mutations and the risk of resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy.

Hyman Muss, MD, discusses special considerations that should be taken when treating older patients with&nbsp;HER2-positive or triple-negative breast cancer.

Arti Hurria, MD, director, Cancer and Aging Research Program, City of Hope, discusses challenges facing geriatric patients with breast cancer.

HER2-positive breast cancer has gone from &quot;worst to first&quot; because of the success of the monoclonal antibody drug trastuzumab in combination with chemotherapy.&nbsp;

The randomized phase IIb METRIC trial could possibly pave the way for the first FDA approval for a targeted therapy for patients with triple-negative breast cancer.&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;

Younger women with breast cancer, which make up of around 20% of patients, present with unique disease characteristics that warrant careful consideration of potentials treatments, particularly given the potential for long-term side effects.

Hyman B. Muss, MD, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC School of Medicine, discusses adjuvant therapy for elderly patients with HER2-positive or triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Breast cancer in younger women needs a different adjuvant treatment strategy from that used in post-menopausal women, but it may not have to include suppressing ovarian function.

As the breast cancer genome continues to be unraveled, a host of new targetable alterations outside of HER2 and the estrogen receptor are beginning to emerge, providing the exciting potential for development of new therapies.

Figuring out how a certain genetic result found through multigene testing might change not only the type of intervention but its timing is the chief challenge, according to Mark Robson, MD, in a presentation at the 2017 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium.

Judith Paice, PhD, RN, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the current pain management for patients with breast cancer.

Adjuvant Dual HER2-Targeted Therapy for HER2+ Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Andrew Seidman, MD, discusses the Watson for Oncology application and the potential for Watson to be a valuable partner for oncologists during the&nbsp;19^th Annual Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women around the world, and those in low- and middle-income countries experience the most deaths from the disease, representing a major need for improvement with significant challenges.&nbsp;

Benjamin O. Anderson, MD, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, discusses the current global unmet need for the treatment of patients with breast cancer.