Breast Cancer

Robert L. Kirkman, MD, President and CEO, Oncothyreon, discusses the evaluation of ONT-380, an oral HER2-specific inhibitor, for the treatment of patents with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

The FDA has issued a drug safety communication regarding the risk of intoxication with the intravenous ethanol-containing chemotherapy docetaxel.

Edith A. Perez, MD, discusses a genomic analysis of immune function genes and clinical outcome in the NCCTG (Alliance) N9831 adjuvant trastuzumab trial.

Julie R. Gralow, MD, director, Breast Medical Oncology, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, clinical research division, member, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Care Center, professor, Medical Oncology Division, University of Washington School of Medicine, discusses toxicities observed in the SWOG S0307 trial, which examined bisphosphonates as adjuvant therapy in primary breast cancer.

The first time Christina T. Giuliano, MD, saw a digital mammogram, she knew the extra clarity and detail would profoundly improve the diagnostic process.

Charles M. Perou, PhD, discusses a trial (CALGB 40601) presented at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting that analyzed gene expression signatures in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer treated with weekly paclitaxel and trastuzumab with or without lapatinib.

The FDA has approved gadobutrol (Gadavist) injection for intravenous use with breast MRI to detect and identify the extent of disease

Aleix Prat, MD, PhD, medical oncologist, Vall D'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain, discusses the differences between EndoPredict and Prosigna.

At the recent National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 19th Annual Conference, experts discussed this year's updates to the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology. The meeting also included reviews of NCCN Task Force reports on issues in supportive care. We asked eleven NCCN panel members to select the most significant updates and insights presented at the conference.

A joint analysis of two phase III trials involving a total of 4690 premenopausal women with hormone-receptor–positive (HR+) breast cancer demonstrated that adjuvant use of the aromatase inhibitor (AI), exemestane, reduced relative risk of developing subsequent invasive cancer by 28% compared with tamoxifen when both agents were combined with ovarian function suppression (OFS).

A dual HER2-blockade strategy that added lapatinib to trastuzumab for the adjuvant treatment of women with early breast cancer failed to demonstrate a significant improvement in DFS over the standard therapy with trastuzumab alone.

Mark D. Pegram, MD, from the Stanford University Medical Center, discusses a phase II study of margetuximab in patients with relapsed or refractory advanced breast cancer whose tumors express HER2 at the 2+ level by immunohistochemistry and lack evidence of HER2 gene amplification by FISH.

Denise A. Yardley, MD, hematologist/oncologist, Sarah Cannon Research Institute discusses a pilot study to assess safety, pharmacokinetics, and effects on circulating estrogens in women with advanced hormone-positive breast cancer when given enzalutamide plus exemestane.

Adding goserelin to chemotherapy for women with early-stage hormone receptor (HR)-negative breast cancer helps both to preserve their fertility and to prolong their survival.

The dosing frequency of zoledronic acid can be reduced by 67% without compromising efficacy and safety in women with breast cancer and bone metastases.

The ballots are in, and 16 leading researchers whose discoveries have propelled the field of cancer treatment forward will be honored during the 2014 Giants of Cancer Care award ceremony on May 30 at Riva Restaurant on Navy Pier in Chicago.

Silvia Formenti, MD, The Sandra and Edward H. Meyer Professor of Radiation Oncology chair, Radiation Oncology, NYU Langone Medical Center, associate director, Radiation Oncology, Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone, discusses a trial that examines concurrent adjuvant systemic therapy and accelerated radiotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)

The ASCO clinical practice guideline now recommends treatment with adjuvant tamoxifen for 10 years in women with stage I-III hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.

Two recently published clinical studies demonstrated a strong association between higher levels of vitamin D and improved outcomes among patients with various cancers.

Julia White, MD, professor, director, Breast Radiation Oncology, vice chair, Clinical Research, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, describes the BR-002 trial for patients with breast cancer.

More recently, researchers seek to understand the mechanisms related to tumor dissemination in hopes of therapeutically targeting this process.

Obesity significantly increases the risk of dying of breast cancer in premenopausal women with ER-positive early disease.

Hyman B. Muss, MD, professor of oncology, University of North Carolina, director, Geriatric Oncology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses evaluating cardiac toxicity in patients with breast cancer.

Henry M. Kuerer, MD, PhD, FACS, professor of surgery, Department of Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the overtreatment of DCIS.

Judith A. Salerno, MD, MS, president, CEO, Susan G. Komen, comments on donations to breast cancer research.