BREAST CANCER

Invasive disease-free survival was prolonged in patients with high-risk, early hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer treated with abemaciclib in combination with standard endocrine therapy in the phase 3 monarchE trial, according to a presentation at the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Five-year invasive disease-free survival and overall survival were improved with the addition of chemotherapy to endocrine therapy as treatment of premenopausal, but not postmenopausal, women with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative, lymph node–positive breast cancer and a recurrence score between 0 and 25.

The most interesting developments and approvals in breast cancer treatment in the last year and expectations regarding data that will be presented on at the upcoming 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Comparing the efficacy of selective HER2 kinase inhibitors in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, it was shown that tucatinib may have been approved in the second-line setting due to it's unique impact on the central nervous system. Another HER2 inhibitor, trastuzumab deruxtecan has demonstrated promise in a phase 2 study and is now being confirmed in a phase 3 study.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology during the 2020 Association for Molecular Pathology Annual Meeting, Ozge Ceyhan-Birsoy, PhD, discussed genetic testing methods for patients with hereditary predisposition and the molecular research underway at MSKCC to improve testing in this patient population.

Patients who received palbociclib and fulvestrant before chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer had greater clinical benefit versus patients who received placebo and fulvestrant, according to an exploratory subgroup analysis of the phase 3 PALOMA-3 trial.

The FDA granted approval to pembrolizumab in combination with chemotherapy as treatment of patients with locally recurrent unresectable or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer whose tumors express PD-L1.

Updated data reported from a phase 3 trial show that patients with HER2- positive early breast cancer had better rates of overall survival after experiencing a pathologic complete response on HER2-targeted therapy, and these responses were observed most often in those with hormone receptor–negative status.

A phase 3 study was initiated for a head-to-head comparison of trastuzumab deruxtecan versus T-DM1 as adjuvant treatment of a subset of patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer.

As a greater understanding of triple-negative breast cancer heterogeneity develops over time, combinations of PD-1/PD-L1 plus PARP inhibitors, androgen receptor targeted agents, and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibitors are undergoing evaluation by investigators in the field.

Recent acceleration in the introduction of new regimens for the treatment of estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer has led to significant survival enhancement, but questions remain regarding how patients should be stratified following disease progression with these therapies.

In a presentation at the 2020 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium, Virginia G. Kaklamani, MD, DSc, reviewed the current genomic tools in the triple negative breast cancer landscape that predict response to targeted treatments.

A number of targeted agents have been approved in the setting of metastatic breast cancer, which has allowed for more personalized treatment approaches and underscores the importance of genomic testing.

Breast cancer data reported during the 2020 European Society Medical Oncology Virtual Congress revealed major advances in the treatment paradigm. The agents included in these trials challenged that standard-of-care.

Palbociclib in combination with standard endocrine therapy did not improve invasive disease-free survival in patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer who have residual invasive disease after completing neoadjuvant chemotherapy, missing the primary end point of the phase 3 PENELOPE-B trial.

The FDA issued a draft guidance that encourages the inclusion of premenopausal women with breast cancer in clinical trials, which will in order tohelp researchers determine the efficacy of a hormonal drug or biological products for this population along with others.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Daniel A. Vorobiof, MD, discussed the evolution of the breast cancer treatment landscape and the emerging role of genomic testing in this space during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

A Fast Track designation was granted by the FDA to eganelisib in combination with an immune checkpoint inhibitor and chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of patients with inoperable locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.

Race, socioeconomic status, and care barriers are factors that affect the timing of treatment and treatment duration throughout the care continuum according to a recent study.

In season 1, episode 3 of Targeted Talks, the importance of precision medicine in breast cancer, and how that vitally differs in community oncology compared with academic settings, is the topic of discussion.