Dr. Fitzgerald on Minimizing Use of Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer

Dennis Fitzgerald, MD, a specialist in breast cancer, lung cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and hemochromatosis, Hackensack Meridian Health Riverview Medical Center, discusses the pivotal TAILORx trial, which found that for intermediate-risk women with hormone receptor (HR)—positive, HER2-negative, axillary lymph node–negative breast cancer, postsurgical treatment with chemotherapy and hormone therapy is not superior to treatment with hormone therapy alone.

The study demonstrated that premenopausal women and those younger than 50 years who are at high intermediate risk might get some benefit from chemotherapy. Fitzgerald says that roughly 25% of women in the TAILORx trial who tested positive for breast cancer were eligible for chemotherapy—a solution that oncologists are often hesitant to recommend due to its adverse events. The TAILORx trial shows that many women who are eligible for chemotherapy may do just as well with endocrine-blocking therapy, says Fitzgerald.