Congress on the Future of Breast Cancer

The challenge of precision medicine in metastatic breast cancer is to develop well-tolerated therapies based on key actionable, accessible, and validated biomarkers, said Francisco J. Esteva, MD, PhD, during an explanation of the current understanding of the molecular landscape of metastatic breast cancer at the <em>16th Annual </em>International Congress on the Future of Breast Cancer East.

In the neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings of treating patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, trastuzumab (Herceptin) remains a standard of care. The question has become whether combination regimens with additional HER2-directed therapies or alternative therapies could improve responses in this patient population without added toxicities, according to Sara M. Tolaney, MD, MPH.

Checkpoint inhibitors against PD-1 and PD-L1 have demonstrated promising efficacy as monotherapies and in combination with chemotherapy for patients with triple-negative breast cancer, with phase III data on the horizon

Mark Pegram, MD, shares some of the most recent developments in the HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer space, the research currently ongoing, and why it is such an exciting time for the field.

Joyce O&rsquo;Shaughnessy, MD, provides an update on existing research in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, and novel agents on the horizon.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology,&nbsp;</em>Arti Hurria, MD,&nbsp;shares the treatment considerations she makes when treating older patients with breast cancer, the unique challenges that come with treating this patient population, and the exciting future she envisions for this space.

Hope S. Rugo, MD,&nbsp;professor of medicine and director of the Breast Oncology Clinical Trials Program at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses extended adjuvant endocrine therapy for patients with HR+ breast cancer.

Adam M. Brufsky, MD, PhD, professor of Medicine, associate chief of Hematology/Oncology, co-director of the Comprehensive Breast Care Center, associate director of Clinical Investigation, University of Pittsburgh, discusses the utility of molecular signatures in managing early-stage breast cancer.

Frankie Ann Holmes, MD, medical oncologist, Texas Oncology, discusses the implications of the results of the MA17R trial, which is a randomized phase III clinical trial that examined the benefits of extending aromatase inhibitors with letrozole as a treatment for postmenopausal patients with early breast cancer.

Sarat Chandarlapaty, MD, PhD, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering, discusses some of the emerging therapies for patients with ER-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Julia White, MD, professor of Radiation Oncology, Ohio State University, discusses some of the alternative procedures that patients with breast cancer may be able to opt for instead of whole-breast irradiation.

There is a lack of targeted agents for triple-negative breast cancer, which makes it one of the most challenging subtypes of breast cancer to treat; however, that may soon be changing.

Dual anti-HER2-directed therapies have emerged as the most beneficial neoadjuvant treatment option for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, according to Frankie Ann Holmes, MD.

More options are now available for combining and sequencing therapy for patients with estrogen (ER)&ndash;positive metastatic breast cancer (mBC), including the deployment of CDK4/6 inhibitors, as clinicians endeavor to individualize the sequencing of therapies to improve patient outcomes, according to Maura N. Dickler, MD.

Clifford A. Hudis, MD, CEO of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, discusses the significance of the relationship between breast cancer and obesity.

When it comes to breast cancer treatments, sometimes less is more, according to Hope S. Rugo, MD.

A better understanding of how patients with triple-negative breast cancer respond to neoadjuvant therapy regimens is helping to further individualize therapy for patients while also informing treatment decisions in the adjuvant setting.

The addition of chemotherapy to standard hormonal therapy does not improve survival rates for patients with early breast cancer who are at low-risk for recurrence using the 21-gene recurrence score.

Angela M. DeMichele, MD, professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania, discusses the biology of triple negative breast cancer and the significant role of DNA repair.