BREAST CANCER

Mixed results have occured in recent trials testing immuotherapy in patients with breast cancer. Checkpoint inhibitors have been used as monotherapy in a pair of trials, reporting lackluster overall response rates. When immunotherapy was paired with chemotherapy, on the other hand, it usually showed better results, and gave signals that immunotherapies combined with targeted agents could work better than immunotherapy alone.

The new drug application for larotrectinib (LOXO-101) for treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors that harbor an NTRK gene fusion has been completed. 

Kornelia Polyak, MD, PhD, discusses several exciting advancements in the field of breast cancer, including immunotherapy, PARP inhibitors, and liquid biopsies.

Elizabeth Mittendorf, MD, PhD, director of the Breast Oncology Program at the Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the importance of identifying biomarkers in patients with breast cancer. Current studies are looking at PD-L1 as a possible biomarker, but Mittendorf believes there may be other biomarkers that will prove to be more reliable. 

Lung Cancer

Tumor reduction for patients with ER-positive breast cancer can be achieved with endocrine therapy and can possibly avoid the need for chemotherapy or even surgery in some patients. Hyman B. Muss, MD, who presented at the 2018 Miami Breast Cancer Conference, said that deciding how long to continue this therapy can be tricky, however.

Uttara Nayar, PhD, shares the findings of recent studies in patients with ER+ breast cancer. Findings have shown that acquired HER2 mutations lead to endocrine resistance, the most frequent cause of breast cancer mortality in the country.

Harold J. Burstein, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, explains how ovary suppression is done in patients with breast cancer. This is a particularly important treatment for younger women who still wish to have children one day.

Abemaciclib, the only CDK4/6 inhibitor approved as a single-agent, has amassed several clinical indications for patients with metastatic breast cancer. The findings from the phase III MONARCH2 and 3 trials, as well as the phase II MONARCH1 study led to these approvals. Each trial showed improvements in progression-free survival, especially in patients with visceral disease and endocrine therapy resistance.

Presented at the 2018 Miami Breast Cancer Conference, results from the phase III OlympiAD trial demonstrated improvements in progression-free survival with olaparib over treatment of physician&#39;s choice. These results were consistent regardless of the baseline tumor burden for patients with HER2-negative breast cancer with a germline <em>BRCA</em>1/2 mutation.

The results of the phase III PALOMA-2 study were presented at the 2018 Miami Breast Cancer Conference. According to the deep analysis, the CDK 4/6 inhibitor palbociclib showed significant efficacy in combination with the aromatase inhibitor letrozole in the frontline setting of estrogen receptor-positive, HER2-negative, postmenopausal metastatic breast cancer.

Lilly Oncology has hired Maura Dickler, MD, to serve as vice president of late phase development, beginning May 7, 2018. She will report to Levi Garraway, MD, PhD, senior vice president of global development and medical affairs of Lilly Oncology.

According to results from the phase III MONALEESA-7 trial presented at the 2018 Miami Breast Cancer Conference, the progression-free survival benefit for ribociclib in pre- or perimenopausal women with hormone receptor&ndash;positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer had been sustained across patient subgroups.

23andMe, Inc. has received authorization from the FDA for the first-ever direct-to-consumer genetic test for cancer risk.

Susan M. Domchek, MD, director of the Basser Center for BRCA at Penn Medicine, discusses the role biomarkers have in the treatment of patients with breast cancer. Identifying biomarkers in patients early on, such as knowledge of estrogen receptor status, can lead to better treatment plans, Domchek says.

Fatima Cardoso, MD, medical oncologist at the Champalimaud Clinical Centre in Portugal, explains the biggest issue in treatment of male breast cancer is due to lack of education. Male patients are most commonly diagnosed in the advanced stages because of this and are commonly given the wrong treatments, says Cardoso.