Breast Cancer

Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) is a novel, fast, safe, and low-cost technique that uses near-infrared light to provide three-dimensional data on tissue vascularity without the use of radiation.

Jerry Lanchbury, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Myriad Genetics, Inc., describes the HRD (homologous recombination deficiency) test.

Although the changeover to using ICD-10 billing codes won't be mandatory until October 1, 2014, there are many coding changes to consider starting on January 1. Specifically, the reimbursement rate for some genetic testing and imaging involving breast cancer will see significant changes.

Through a variety of research roles, Sara Hurvitz, MD, is exploring novel targeted therapies for the treatment of breast cancer, including developing and implementing clinical trials. Her interests include the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling pathway.

The question of whether fulvestrant (Faslodex) should be moved forward in the treatment timeline for postmenopausal women with advanced, hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer is being evaluated in an international, randomized phase III trial.

Leigh A. Neumayer, MD, discusses the POWER PIINC trial, a study to measure the preoperative window of endocrine therapy.

Nicholas Turner, PhD, discusses the PALOMA-3 trial, which studied palbociclib combined with fulvestrant for the treatment of patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer after endocrine failure.

Elizabeth Garner, MD, MPH, vice president, Clinical Affairs, Preventive Care, Myriad Genetics, discusses the myRisk Hereditary Cancer Test.

Postneoadjuvant bisphosphonate therapy in women with residual invasive disease following chemotherapy for primary breast cancer does not improve clinical outcomes, according to an interim analysis of a large phase III clinical trial presented at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Laura J. Esserman, MD, discusses the I-SPY 2 trial, a clinical trial for women with newly diagnosed, locally advanced breast cancer.

Andrew J. Brenner, MD, PhD, from the Cancer Therapy Research Center, discusses the link between obesity and breast cancer outcomes.

Julie R. Gralow, MD, from the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, discusses the SWOG S0500 trial, which evaluated different therapies for patients with metastatic breast cancer who had elevated circulating tumor cell levels.

The first results from the novel the I-SPY 2 trial show encouraging possibilities for a veliparib/carboplatin combination therapy in TNBC.

Antiangiogenic therapy with ramucirumab, an investigational agent that binds to VEGFR-2, added to first-line docetaxel failed to delay the progression of HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer.

Switching chemotherapy based on level of elevated circulating tumor cells after one cycle of chemotherapy did not improve OS or PFS in women with metastatic breast cancer.

The addition of carboplatin to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy increased pathologic complete response rates in patients with triple-negative breast cancer.

The combination of everolimus, trastuzumab, and vinorelbine, as given in the BOLERO-3 trial in patients with pretreated HER2-positive advanced breast cancer, is adequately tolerated, and adverse events are manageable.

Kristi McIntyre, MD, from Texas Oncology, discusses the results of a phase II, multicenter, single-arm study that studies eribulin mesylate as first-line therapy for locally recurrent or metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer.

Matthew J. Ellis, MD, PhD, from the Siteman Cancer Center, discusses the ongoing phase III FALCON trial.

Edith A. Perez, MD, professor of medicine, Mayo Clinic, discusses the antibody drug conjugate T-DM1 as a treatment for patients with breast cancer.

In women with metastatic breast cancer that responds to frontline chemotherapy, locoregional treatment (LRT) of the primary tumor and axillary nodes does not produce an increase in overall survival (OS),

PIK3CA-mutated tumors in patients with HER2-positive (HER+) breast cancer (BC) are associated with a much lower rate of pathological complete response (pCR). The lowest pCR was observed in HER2+/hormone receptor-positive (HR+), PIK3CA-mutated tumors.