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Issues in Oncology
Breast Cancer
Geriatric Oncology

Study Suggests No Evidence for Screening Mammography Cutoff Age

An analysis of data from nearly 6 million screening mammograms found no evidence for a clear cutoff age to stop breast cancer screening. Screening mammography among women aged 75 years was associated with higher cancer detection and lower recall rates than among younger women in the study. These...

Breast Cancer

Expert Point of View: Carlos L. Arteaga, MD

Press conference moderator ­Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, Tennessee, said that buparlisib will probably not be clinically useful, partly because it crosses the blood-brain barrier , thus causing mood disorders, and is not an ideal phosphoinositide 3-kinase...

Breast Cancer

Buparlisib Phase III Findings: Glass Half Empty or Half Full?

The pan-phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor buparlisib combined with fulvestrant (Faslodex) prolonged progression-free survival compared with placebo and fulvestrant in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer previously treated with an...

Breast Cancer

Expert Point of View: Myles Brown, MD, Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, and Eric Winer, MD

Myles Brown, MD, Director of the Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, suggested the failure of the endocrine therapy to increase the pathologic complete response rates “may be related to the fact that the aromatase inhibitor was not the optimal...

Breast Cancer

Pathologic Complete Response Not Boosted by Addition of Estrogen Deprivation to Chemotherapy and Dual HER2 Blockade

The addition of estrogen deprivation to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and HER2 blockade did not enhance the achievement of pathologic complete responses in women with early-stage breast cancer, according to the results of the NRG Oncology/NSABP B-52 trial reported at the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer...

Breast Cancer

Expert Point of View: Carlos L. Arteaga, MD

Press conference moderator ­Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, said: “This drug is not necessarily the same as palbociclib [Ibrance] or ribociclib. There are subtle differences among these three [cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6] inhibitors. The tissue analysis provides us with an enormous opportunity to...

Breast Cancer

Abemaciclib Plus Anastrozole: Promising Signals Reported in Phase II Study of Early Breast Cancer

As neoadjuvant therapy, abemaciclib alone or in combination with anastrozole achieved strong signals of anticancer activity in postmenopausal patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer in the neoMONARCH phase II study.1 Abemaciclib alone or in combination with anastrozole...

Breast Cancer
Genomics/Genetics

Expert Point of View: Leif Ellisen, MD, PhD

Results of this trial have been anticipated for a long time. Women were enrolled between 2000 and 2008,” said Leif Ellisen, MD, PhD, Program Director of Breast Medical Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center in Boston. Regarding the survival advantage in triple-negative...

Breast Cancer
Genomics/Genetics

BRCA Status Does Not Seem to Affect Survival Outcomes in Young Women With Early Breast Cancer

Young women who carry the BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 mutation and develop breast cancer seem to have similar survival compared with young women who have BRCA-negative breast cancer. However, women with BRCA-positive triple-negative breast cancer have an 11% survival advantage compared with those with...

Breast Cancer
Genomics/Genetics

Genomic Landscape of Metastatic Breast Cancer Differs From That of Primary Breast Cancer

Researchers working on whole-exome and transciptome sequencing of endocrine-resistant estrogen receptor–positive metastatic breast cancer have shown that the mutational landscape differs from that of estrogen receptor–positive primary breast cancer, and these differences have the potential to...

Breast Cancer

Expert Point of View: Virginia Kaklamani, MD

How can the results of this trial be applied to clinical practice? Press conference moderator, Virginia Kaklamani, MD, of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, said: “The landscape has changed. Now we treat postmenopausal hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative metastatic...

Breast Cancer

Fulvestrant Plus Everolimus: New Second-Line Option for Postmenopausal Metastatic Breast Cancer

The addition of everolimus (Afinitor) to fulvestrant (Faslodex) doubled progression-free survival in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer resistant to aromatase inhibitor therapy compared with fulvestrant plus placebo, according to the...

breast cancer

FDA Permits Marketing of New Tissue Expander for Women Undergoing Breast Reconstruction Following Mastectomy

On December 21, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed marketing of a new tissue-expander system for soft-tissue expansion in two-stage breast reconstruction following mastectomy and in the treatment of underdeveloped breasts and soft-tissue deformities. A patient uses a dose...

Breast Cancer

Updated ASTRO Guideline Expands Pool of Suitable Candidates for Accelerated Partial-Breast Irradiation

On November 17, 2016, the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) issued an updated clinical practice statement for accelerated partial-breast irradiation for early-stage breast cancer. The updated guideline reflects recent evidence that greater numbers of patients may benefit from...

Breast Cancer

Confirmation or Transformation? The Case of Palbociclib in Hormone Receptor–Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer

Women with hormone receptor–positive metastatic breast cancer are witnessing an unprecedented time of success in the battle against their disease. Just in the past 12 months, a number of prospective, randomized, phase III studies were reported, with positive results indicating the value of...

Breast Cancer

Addition of Palbociclib to Letrozole in Previously Untreated Advanced Estrogen Receptor–Positive, HER2-Negative Breast Cancer

In the phase III PALOMA-2 trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Richard S. Finn, MD, of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues found that the addition of palbociclib (Ibrance) to letrozole significantly improved...

Breast Cancer

Expert Point of View: Michael Gnant, MD

Michael Gnant, MD, Professor of Surgery at the Medical University of Vienna in Austria and President of the Austrian Breast & Colorectal Cancer Study Group, was the invited discussant of the three studies of extended endocrine therapy. “The trials did not reach the necessary statistical levels ...

Breast Cancer

Benefit of Extended Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy Not Upheld in Multiple Studies Reported in San Antonio

Extended endocrine therapy with an aromatase inhibitor did not improve disease-free survival in patients with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer enrolled in three studies presented at the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. The results stand in contrast to the phase III National Cancer...

breast cancer

Improved Survival With Higher Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte Values in Advanced HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

In a retrospective analysis of the phase III CLEOPATRA trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Luen et al found that higher baseline tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte levels were associated with improved overall survival among patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer receiving trastuzumab...

breast cancer

ASCO Makes No Changes to 2014 Recommendations for Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Early-Stage Breast Cancer

As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Gary H. Lyman, MD, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and colleagues, an ASCO clinical practice guideline update panel made no changes to the 2014 recommendations for sentinel lymph node biopsy in women with early-stage breast cancer. The...

breast cancer
issues in oncology

ESMO Asia 2016: Almost 20% of Swedish Breast Cancer Patients Fail to Complete Prescribed Endocrine Therapy

Around 20% of patients with breast cancer in Sweden do not complete endocrine therapy, according to research that will be reported at the ESMO Asia 2016 Congress (Abstract 62O_PR), to be held December 16–19 in Singapore.The study in over 5,500 women found that younger patients and those who...

breast cancer
symptom management

Effectiveness of Electroacupuncture for Sleep Disturbances in Patients With Breast Cancer and Hot Flashes

Studies suggest that approximately 30% to 40% of women with breast cancer report persistent hot flashes. Nocturnal hot flashes are among the most problematic because they can contribute to poor sleep. A new study published by Garland et al in Menopause shows that electroacupuncture may be effective ...

breast cancer

Aleix Prat, MD, PhD, on HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: First Results of the PAMELA Trial (Spanish Language Version)

Aleix Prat, MD, PhD, of the University of Barcelona, discusses in Spanish study findings on intrinsic subtype as a predictor of pathologic complete response following neoadjuvant dual HER2 blockade without chemotherapy in HER2-positive breast cancer (Abstract S3-03).

breast cancer

Phase III Trial Shows Improved Progression-Free Survival With Fulvestrant vs Anastrozole in Hormone Receptor–Positive Advanced Breast Cancer

In the international phase III FALCON trial reported in The Lancet, Robertson et al found that progression-free survival was improved with intramuscular fulvestrant (Faslodex) vs oral anastrozole in endocrine therapy–naive women with hormone receptor–positive locally advanced or...

breast cancer

SABCS 2016: IBM Watson for Oncology Platform Shows High Degree of Concordance With Physician Recommendations

The artificial-intelligence platform Watson for Oncology (WFO) achieved a high degree of concordance with the recommendations of a panel of oncologists in a double-blinded validation study, according to results presented at the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held December 6 to 10...

breast cancer

SABCS 2016: Aromatase Inhibitors Were Associated With Reduced Endothelial Function in Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Patients

Postmenopausal women with breast cancer who took aromatase inhibitors demonstrated endothelial dysfunction, a predictor of cardiovascular disease, according to study results presented at the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held December 6 to 10 (Abstract s5-07). Aromatase inhibitors are...

breast cancer

Virginia G. Kaklamani, MD, DSc, on Early Breast Cancer: Year in Review

Virginia G. Kaklamani, MD, DSc, of The University of Texas Health Science Center, discusses new directions in prevention, early detection, and treatment of early-stage breast cancer, using genomic tests and targeted therapies.

breast cancer

Monica Morrow, MD: Brinker Award Lecture Summary on Changing Paradigms in Local Therapy of Breast Cancer

Monica Morrow, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, recognized at this year’s meeting for scientific distinction in clinical research, summarizes her Brinker Award lecture on modifying local therapy to decrease the burden of cancer treatment.

breast cancer

S.P. Somashekhar, MBBS, MCh(Onco), on Watson for Oncology: A Validation Study for Breast Cancer

S.P. Somashekhar, MBBS, MCh(Onco), of the Manipal Comprehensive Cancer Centre, discusses a study to assess the performance of IBM's artificial intelligence platform in comparison to a multidisciplinary tumor board (Abstract S6-07).

breast cancer

Eric P. Winer, MD: The McGuire Lecture

Eric P. Winer, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, summarizes his McGuire lecture on the past and future of breast cancer treatment.

breast cancer

Mothaffar Rimawi, MD, on HR-Positive, HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Results of the NRG Oncology/NSABP B-52 Trial

Mothaffar Rimawi, MD, of the Smith Breast Center at Baylor College of Medicine, discusses phase II findings from a study evaluating pathologic complete response in patients with HR-positive, HER2-positive disease treated with neoadjuvant docetaxel, carboplatin, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab with or without estrogen deprivation (Abstract S3-06).

breast cancer
symptom management

Patricia A. Ganz, MD: Aromatase Inhibitors Data Review

Patricia A. Ganz, MD, of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, summarizes two studies on using duloxetine for aromatase inhibitor–associated musculoskeletal symptoms, and aromatase inhibitors’ effect on endothelial function and heart disease (Abstracts S5-06 and S5-07).

breast cancer

Matthew P. Goetz, MD, on Advanced Breast Cancer: Expert Perspectives

Matthew P. Goetz, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, reviews progress made during the past year on treatment of advanced disease.

breast cancer

Ruth O'Regan, MD, on Locally Advanced and Metastatic Breast Cancer: Results of the BELLE-3 Trial

Ruth O'Regan, MD, of the University of Wisconsin, discusses study findings on buparlisib plus fulvestrant in postmenopausal women with HR-positive, HER2-positive, aromatase inhibitor–treated, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer, who progressed on or after mTOR inhibitor–based treatment (Abstract S4-07).

breast cancer

Lisa A. Carey, MD, and Maki Tanioka, MD, on HER2+ Breast Cancer: Results From the CALGB 40601 Alliance Trial

Lisa A. Carey, MD, and Maki Tanioka, MD, both of the University of North Carolina, discuss study findings on weekly paclitaxel and trastuzumab with or without lapatinib for HER2-positive breast cancer (Abstract S3-05).

breast cancer

Lisa A. Carey, MD, and Ingrid A. Mayer, MD, on Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Treatment Challenges

Lisa A. Carey, MD, of the University of North Carolina, and Ingrid A. Mayer, MD, of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, discuss the current studies on neoadjuvant systemic treatment in the triple-negative disease setting.

breast cancer

Lisa A. Carey, MD, on SABCS Meeting Highlights: Expert Perspective

Lisa A. Carey, MD, of the University of North Carolina, discusses a session she moderated on key data presented at SABCS, and gives her expert views on putting the research data into clinical practice.

cost of care
global cancer care
breast cancer

Peter Bach, MD, on The Global Cost of Cancer Care

Peter Bach, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, summarizes his plenary lecture on drug costs and their effect on the affordability of cancer care worldwide (Plenary Lecture 3).

breast cancer
genomics/genetics

Nikhil Wagle, MD, on Breast Cancer: Advances in Genomics

Nikhil Wagle, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the genomic sequencing of ER-positive metastatic breast cancer that has become resistant to therapies and the implications for the choice of next therapy, clinical trial eligibility, and novel drug targets (Abstract S1-01).

breast cancer

Joseph A. Sparano, MD, on Early-Stage Breast Cancer: Findings on the Tumor Microenvironment

Joseph A. Sparano, MD, of the Montefiore Medical Center, discusses the tumor microenvironment of metastasis score and its association with early distant recurrence in HR-positive, HER2-negative early-stage breast cancer (Abstract S4-04). To view a short film on capturing imaging inside breast cancer tumors, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_JDp-VePAs

breast cancer

Hyo Sook Han, MD, on Metastatic Breast Cancer: Trial Results on Veliparib, Carboplatin, and Paclitaxel

Hyo Sook Han, MD, of Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses phase II study findings on the efficacy and tolerability of veliparib in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel vs placebo in patients with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations and metastatic breast cancer (Abstract S2-05).

breast cancer
symptom management

Anne Hudson Blaes, MD, on Aromatase Inhibitors and Cardiovascular Disease

Anne Hudson Blaes, MD, of the University of Minnesota, discusses the association between aromatase inhibitors, endothelial function, and early heart disease (Abstract S5-07).

symptom management
breast cancer

Jame Abraham, MD, on Hair Loss: SCALP Trial Results

Jame Abraham, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, discusses findings of the Scalp Cooling Alopecia Prevention trial for patients with early-stage breast cancer (Abstract S5-02).

breast cancer

Jame Abraham, MD, on ER-Positive Breast Cancer: Expert Perspective on Initial Results of NRG Oncology/NSABP B-42

Jame Abraham, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, gives his perspective on study results of extended adjuvant endocrine therapy in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer who have completed previous adjuvant endocrine treatment (Abstract S1-05).

breast cancer

SABCS 2016: Scalp-Cooling Device Safe and Effective in Reducing Chemotherapy-Induced Alopecia in Women With Breast Cancer

Although adjuvant chemotherapy decreases the risk of breast cancer recurrence, it is associated with distressing side effects, including hair loss. A prospective randomized trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of the Orbis Paxman Hair Loss Prevention System (OPHLPS), a scalp-cooling device that ...

breast cancer

Ruth O’Regan, MD, and Ann H. Partridge, MD, on The NRG Oncology/NSABP B-42, IDEAL, and DATA Studies

Ruth O’Regan, MD, of the University of Wisconsin, and Ann H. Partridge, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discuss study findings from a session Dr. O’Regan moderated on three major trials addressing anastrozole after tamoxifen in HR-positive early breast cancer, letrozole in HR-positive disease, and extended letrozole treatment after adjuvant endocrine therapy (Abstracts S1-03, S1-05, S1-08).

breast cancer

SABCS 2016: Neoadjuvant Abemaciclib Treatment May Benefit Patients With Early-Stage Hormone Receptor–Positive, HER2-Negative Breast Cancer

Presurgical treatment with the investigational therapeutic abemaciclib, either alone or in combination with the aromatase inhibitor anastrozole, reduced levels of Ki67, a marker of cell proliferation, in hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer cells, compared with anastrozole...

breast cancer

SABCS 2016: BELLE-3 Trial of Buparlisib Plus Endocrine Therapy Meets Primary Endpoint of Progression-Free Survival in Breast Cancer Patients

The investigational PI3K inhibitor buparlisib, in combination with endocrine therapy, improved outcomes for patients with hormone receptor–positive advanced breast cancer that had progressed after treatment with everolimus (Afinitor) plus exemestane, according to data from the phase III...

breast cancer

SABCS 2016: Adding Veliparib to Chemotherapy Improved Response Rates Among Patients With BRCA-Mutant Breast Cancer

Adding the investigational poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor veliparib to carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy improved the overall response rate without increasing adverse events among patients who had locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations,...

breast cancer

Samuel Smith, PhD, on Tamoxifen Adherence: Results of the IBIS-1 Study

Samuel Smith, PhD, of Queen Mary University of London, discusses study findings on menopausal symptoms as predictors of long‐term adherence in an International breast cancer intervention study (Abstract S5-03).

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