Breast Cancer

Lisa A. Carey, MD, comments on the recent I-SPY 2 and KRISTINE findings, the I-SPY 2 program as a whole, and the work ahead in the neoadjuvant landscape of HER2-positive breast cancer.

During the past 2 years, there have been a number of advancements in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer that include the development of novel agents and new strategies in several disease settings, resulting in improved outcomes for patients.

After years of anticipation, biosimilar versions of the most widely administered monoclonal antibodies in oncology care are moving closer to fruition for the US market, starting with a new form of trastuzumab (Herceptin).

Maura N. Dickler, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the results of the single-arm MONARCH 1 trial, which examined the efficacy of the CDK4/6 inhibitor abemaciclib in heavily pretreated patients with refractory, hormone-receptor (HR)–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer.

Adding the CDK 4/6 inhibitor palbociclib (Ibrance) to letrozole reduced the risk of disease progression by 42% compared with letrozole alone in patients with ER-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer.

Young black women with breast cancer are much less likely to have BRCA testing or, if they carry a BRCA mutation, to undergo risk-reducing prophylactic mastectomy or salpingo-oophorectomy.

Women who extended their adjuvant therapy with an aromatase inhibitor to 10 years after treatment for their early-stage HR-positive breast cancer reduced their risk of recurrence by more than a third and experienced no new toxicities or worsening of quality of life.

Researchers are hoping that a new nationwide effort to encourage patients to share their tumor samples and clinical information will lead to new discoveries and better treatments.

The CDK4/6 inhibitor abemaciclib induced a response rate of nearly 20% in heavily pretreated patients with refractory, HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer, according to findings from the phase II MONARCH 1 trial.

A biosimilar version of trastuzumab demonstrated equivalent efficacy and safety to the FDA-approved branded drug in a randomized phase III study among patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Sacituzumab govitecan (IMMU-132) had an objective response rate of 33% in pretreated patients with triple-negative breast cancer, according to updated findings from a phase II study reported by Immunomedics, the manufacturer of the antibody-drug conjugate.