BREAST CANCER

The addition of an aromatase inhibitor (AI) to pertuzumab (Perjeta) and trastuzumab (Herceptin) improved progression-free survival (PFS) by 3.09 months, when compared with trastuzumab plus an AI, according to findings from the phase II PERTAIN trial.

​The addition of the veliparib to carboplatin/paclitaxel demonstrated promising objective response rates and trends toward improvements in progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with advanced&nbsp;<em>BRCA</em>-positive breast cancer.

Extending treatment with letrozole by an additional 5 years after 5 years of successful treatment did not improve disease-free survival or overall survival in postmenopausal women with early-stage hormone receptor -positive breast cancer.

Adding everolimus to fulvestrant reduced the risk of progression or death by 40% compared with fulvestrant alone for postmenopausal patients with metastatic HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer who are resistant to aromatase inhibitor therapy.

Mark D. Pegram, MD, director of the Breast Cancer Oncology Program, Stanford Women&rsquo;s Cancer Center, co-director of Molecular Therapeutics Program, Stanford Medicine, discusses the phase III SOPHIA trial, which is exploring margetuximab plus chemotherapy versus trastuzumab plus chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.

Debu Tripathy, MD, chair, Breast Medical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the potential for immunotherapy in the treatment of HER2+ breast cancer.

An expert panel, consisting of the College of American Pathologists, American Society for Clinical Pathology, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology&nbsp;issued comprehensive, evidence-based guidelines for clinicians and pathologists regarding the testing of HER2 status for patients with gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma.&nbsp;

The European Commission has approved the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib as a treatment for adult patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer, either in combination with an aromatase inhibitor in the frontline setting or combined with fulvestrant after progression on endocrine therapy.

HER2+ Early-Stage Breast Cancer with Ruth O'Regan, MD

HER2+ Early-Stage Breast Cancer with Ruth O'Regan, MD

Findings from a highly anticipated, randomized, phase II trial could possibly pave the path for the FDA approval of the first targeted therapy for patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), explains Linda T. Vahdat, MD.<br /> &nbsp;

Linda T. Vahdat, MD, PhD, ‎Breast Cancer Research Program Leader at Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian, discusses the current progress being made with glembatumumab vedotin in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and what the future holds for this agent.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Frankie Holmes, MD, discusses HER2-directed therapy with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and pertuzumab (Perjeta).

New findings from a study suggest it is unlikely that any single gene can predict response to targeted therapy for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer. Instead, gene networks&mdash; specifically those involving PI3 kinase &mdash;may provide a clearer picture of patient outcomes.

Though some clinicians may characterize the treatment landscape of HER2-positive breast cancer as overcrowded, Mark Pegram, MD, firmly believes that there is still much to learn in this space.

The FDA has granted priority review designation to a new drug application for ribociclib for use in combination with letrozole as a frontline therapy for patients with HR&ndash;positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer.

Among patients with HER2-negative stage IIIb/IV breast cancer who have progressed after a taxane or anthracycline therapy, a multicenter single-arm study of third-line eribulin demonstrated both safety and efficacy.

In the &ldquo;real world&rdquo; NABUCCO trial, results with nab-paclitaxel were consistent with those reported in the pivotal trial among patients with metastatic breast cancer who are ineligible to receive anthracycline therapy.

Toxicities associated with capecitabine may be better managed by dose reductions and/or a week-on/week-off (WOWO) dosing schedule among patients aged 70 years or older with metastatic breast cancer.

The addition of palbociclib (Ibrance) to endocrine therapy led to a consistent improvement in progression-free survival (PFS), according to a biomarker analysis of a recently reported randomized trial.¹

Antonio Llombart-Cussac, MD, PhD, medical oncologist, chairman, Medical Oncology Service, University Hospital Arnau de Vilanova in Valencia, Spain, discusses his vision for breast cancer treatment in the next 5 to 10 years.