BREAST CANCER

Rising prescription drug prices continue to add to the burden of paying for quality healthcare. In an effort to confront such costs, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has rescinded a prohibition on step therapy for Medicare Advantage plans. But some contend such a policy will reduce patient access to optimal medication.

In results presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology’s 2018 Molecular Analysis for Personalised Therapy Congress, Marlene Kok, MD, PhD, said results from the phase II TONIC study showed that induction therapy with doxorubicin turned “cold” tumor cells “hot,” resulting in an objective response rate of 20% following treatment with nivolumab.

Genomic assays and signatures are increasingly being used as a prognostic indicator for guiding treatment decisions, according to Harold J. Burstein, MD, PhD. During a presentation at the 2018 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium in Chicago, he explained that many of these tests can also be used as predictive indicators.

Talazoparib has been approved by the FDA for treatment of patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline <em>BRCA</em>-mutated, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer, according to Pfizer, the manufacturer of the PARP inhibitor.

Although, it is challenging to determine the optimal&nbsp;adjuvant therapy for&nbsp;younger patients with breast cancer, Mark Robson, MD, encouraged that the addition of adjuvant chemotherapy does show a benefit in this patient population.&nbsp;

The role of&nbsp;tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is expanding in cancer care, necessitating a more involved role for pathologists to quantify immune infiltrates,&nbsp;K.P. Siziopikou, MD, PhD, suggested during a presentation at&nbsp;the 2018 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium.

Patients with HER2-positive, microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H), and <em>NTRK</em> gene fusion-positive breast cancer likely benefit more than others from molecular profiling. In a presentation at the 2018 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium in Chicago, Illinois,&nbsp;Sledge discussed the growing use of molecular profiling, especially for metastatic cancers, as well said the decreasing cost of sequencing.

Following recent FDA clearances, using scalp cooling to&nbsp;limit alopecia in patients receiving chemotherapy is closer to becoming a more common practice,&nbsp;according to a presentation at the 2018 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium.

Pontchartrain Cancer Center was founded in 2005 to serve an area of Louisiana that lacked the necessary resources for cancer care. This community cancer center, with 2 locations in Southeast Louisiana, accommodates any patient to walk through its doors, filling a major unmet need for the community in this rural area.

HER2+ Early-Stage Breast Cancer: Perioperative Approaches

Only 1 treatment option is currently&nbsp;available for treating&nbsp;patients with metastatic germline&nbsp;<em>BRCA</em>-mutated triple-negative&nbsp;breast cancer, but research&nbsp;into novel therapies, including PI3K/conjugates could soon result in a host of new therapies for this hard-to-treat disease.

Recurrent Metastatic ER+ Breast Cancer

The primary endpoint for the&nbsp;phase III SOLAR-1 trial has been met, with&nbsp;improved progression-free survival seen with the&nbsp;combination of&nbsp;alpelisib and&nbsp;fulvestrant compared with&nbsp;fulvestrant alone in postmenopausal women and men with HR-positive, HER2-negative,&nbsp;<em>PIK3CA</em>-mutant advanced or metastatic breast cancer that had progressed after aromatase inhibitor treatment with or without a CDK4/6 inhibitor.