The diagnosis of end-stage cancer rarely led to the clinically indicated discontinuation of statin therapy when prescribed for primary prevention.

After years of varying decisions by lower courts regarding the patents held on a test for genetic mutations associated with breast cancer, the US Supreme Court has ruled that a segment of DNA in isolation is a natural product and not eligible for patent protection.

Although recent findings suggest some patients with HER2-negative breast cancer would benefit from therapies directed against overexpression of the protein, two leading oncologists do not see an immediate impact on clinical practice as further validation is needed.

New research suggests that HER2-targeted drugs may actually have much broader applications, benefiting patients who are not designated HER2-positive by routine testing.

Max S. Wicha, MD, is an internationally renowned research expert in the field of breast oncology. His lab was part of the first team to discover stem cells in breast cancer, and he is among the most highly cited investigators in the field of cancer stem cells.