Dr. Ellis on Hopeful ER+/HER2- Breast Cancer Paradigms

Matthew J. Ellis, MD, PhD, director, Section of Breast Oncology, Division of Oncology, Department of Medicine, Washington University, St Louis, MO, explains that he anticipates a paradigm between other rare forms of cancer and estrogen receptor (ER) positive/HER2-negative breast cancer.

Ellis hopes to find something similar to the use of imatinib for Ph+ CML. In this case a fusion gene, BCR-ABL, activates the tumor cells, by inhibiting the mutation you can get rid of the tumor. In breast cancer an example would be Herceptin and other agents for HER2 amplifications.