© 2025 HSP News Service, L.L.C.
In a Swedish study reported in JAMA Oncology, Rodriguez et al identified characteristics of interval breast cancers—those diagnosed between two screening examinations—compared with screen-detected cancers on the basis of analysis of rare germline genetic deleterious protein-truncating variants. As...
Investigators have found that risk-reducing mastectomy decreases the risk of receiving a breast cancer diagnosis and the likelihood of mortality in female patients with BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic variants, according to a recent study published by Metcalfe et al in the British Journal of Cancer....
In a patient-reported outcomes analysis from the phase III OlympiA trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Patricia A. Ganz, MD, FASCO, and colleagues found no clinically important differences in fatigue—the outcome of primary interest—between adjuvant olaparib and placebo in patients...
A novel three-drug combination achieved notable responses in patients with advanced HER2-negative breast cancer, according to new research published by Roussos Torres et al in Nature Cancer. The regimen included a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor combined with two types of checkpoint...
In a Chinese single-institution phase II trial (FUTURE-SUPER) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Fan et al found that molecular subtype–based therapy produced promising results in the first-line treatment of metastatic or recurrent triple-negative breast cancer. Study Details In the open-label...
In a phase III trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Cynthia X. Ma, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that neither neoadjuvant fulvestrant nor anastrozole plus fulvestrant improved the endocrine-sensitive disease (ESD) rate vs anastrozole alone among postmenopausal patients with phase II to III estrogen...
In a study reported in JAMA Network Open, Xu et al identified incidence of primary invasive breast cancer according to race/ethnicity, disease stage, and hormone receptor status among U.S. women with breast cancer aged 20 to 49 years diagnosed between 2000 and 2019. Study Details The study used...
Low-dose positron-emission mammography (PEM) may provide high sensitivity for detecting breast cancer and significantly reduce the likelihood of false-positive results, according to a recent study published by Freitas et al in Radiology: Imaging Cancer. The innovative breast imaging technique may...
Researchers may have uncovered the factors contributing to hormone therapy resistance in some patients with advanced estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer, according to a recent study published by Kingston et al in Cancer Discovery. The findings may indicate drugs currently in development...
In a German single-institution study reported in JAMA Oncology, Hülpüsch et al identified skin microbiome characteristics associated with severe radiodermatitis in women receiving adjuvant radiotherapy for breast cancer. Study Details The study included 20 consecutively enrolled women who received...
Investigators have uncovered high rates of reoperation following initial breast-conserving surgery in patients with breast cancer that may contribute to increased costs of cancer care and a higher risk of postoperative complications, according to a recent study published by Kim et al in the Annals...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Dennis J. Slamon, MD, PhD, and colleagues, the phase III PALOMA-2 trial showed no overall survival benefit with the addition of palbociclib to letrozole in patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer with no...
Invited discussant Laura Huppert, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, Comprehensive Cancer Center, focused her remarks on the need for biomarkers for selection of immunotherapy as part of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. “Hormone...
Pembrolizumab added to neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by adjuvant pembrolizumab plus endocrine therapy improved pathologic complete responses in patients with early-stage, high-risk, estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, according to updated results of the phase III...
Heather Han, MD, Research Director, Department of Breast Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, commented on the latest update from the NATALEE trial: “Despite the established standard adjuvant therapy, many patients with hormone receptor–positive, early-stage breast cancer (including stages...
Invasive disease–free survival continued to be significantly improved for patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative, early-stage breast cancer who received the CDK4/6 inhibitor ribociclib plus a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor compared with a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor alone....
The road to my breast cancer diagnosis in 2018 was long and tortuous. For 3 years leading up to the diagnosis, I had imaging scans and tissue biopsies every 3 months because of suspicious masses in my breasts. The uncertainty was so destabilizing that I was in a constant state of emotional unrest....
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Priya Rastogi, MD, and colleagues, an interim analysis of overall survival in the phase III monarchE trial showed no significant benefit with the addition of 2 years of adjuvant abemaciclib to endocrine therapy in patients with hormone...
The addition of inavolisib to first-line treatment with palbociclib plus fulvestrant more than doubled progression-free survival in patients with recurrent PIK3CA-mutated, hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer, according to a late-breaking primary analysis of the phase III ...
Hope S. Rugo, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses data from the phase II KEYLYNK-009 study, which compared pembrolizumab plus olaparib vs pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy after induction with pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy for patients with locally recurrent inoperable or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (Abstract GS01-05).
Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, of Emory University Winship Cancer Institute, discusses the IDEA trial of endocrine therapy without radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery for postmenopausal patients between the ages of 50 and 69 with stage I breast cancer. The regimen demonstrated a low risk of relapse in this population, with a genomic assay used in combination with classic clinical and biological features for treatment selection (Abstract GS02-08).
Seema Khan, MD, of Northwestern University and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the 5-year clinical outcomes of ECOG-ACRIN 4112, a prospective trial that supports the omission of radiotherapy after surgery in patients with ductal carcinoma in situ who have a low DCIS score and its use in patients with intermediate/high DCIS scores (Abstract GS03-01).
In 2023, nearly 300,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed in the United States, and approximately 56,000 new cases of ductal carcinoma in situ were diagnosed. Although most of those cancers are diagnosed in older adults, about 9% of all new cases of breast cancer are found in women ...
In a retrospective analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Bolze et al identified a group of women at low risk for breast cancer based on genetic analysis. The findings may support altering cancer screening in this low-risk group. As stated by the investigators, “Genetic information is not being used...
Researchers may have uncovered a novel strategy to predict whether synthetic chemicals may cause breast cancer by examining their specific traits, according to a recent study published by Kay et al in Environmental Health Perspectives. Background The incidence of breast cancer—the most common...
At a median follow-up of 8.4 years, adjuvant use of ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) continued to improve invasive disease–free survival and overall survival compared with trastuzumab in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer with residual invasive disease after neoadjuvant therapy. These ...
Researchers have evaluated the efficacy of atezolizumab in combination with carboplatin in patients with triple-negative breast cancer, according to a recent study published by Lehmann et al in JAMA Oncology. The new findings may help researchers better understand biomarkers of immunotherapy...
Although current ASCO guidelines recommend exercise for patients with breast cancer during adjuvant therapy with curative intent, the guidelines state that more study is needed regarding the effects of exercise for patients with metastatic breast cancer. The results of the PREFERABLE-EFFECT trial...
It may be possible for some patients with breast cancer to avoid adjuvant regional nodal irradiation safely, according to the results of the NRG Oncology/NSABP B-51/RTOG 1304 clinical trial presented at the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.1 These findings particularly apply to patients...
Investigators analyzed cells within triple-negative breast cancers before and after radiation therapy combined with pembrolizumab and identified three patient groups with different responses to the treatment. Their study, published by Shiao et al in Cancer Cell, found that for some patients with...
Investigators have found that involving patients as partners in the treatment decision-making process may be a critical aspect of patient-centered care, according to a recent study published by Aggarwal et al in Cancer. Study Methods and Results In the study, the investigators used 2016 to 2018...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Timmins et al, a pooled analysis of 19 international cohorts showed that high vs low self-reported leisure-time physical activity was associated with a reduced risk of premenopausal breast cancer. Study Details The study used individual-level data ...
A recent study showed that the HER2-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor lapatinib was associated with improved overall survival in patients with initially HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer and HER2-positive circulating tumor cells (CTCs). These findings were published by Fehm et al in Clinical...
In the phase II CURB trial reported in The Lancet, Chiaojung Jillian Tsai, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that the addition of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) to standard-of-care systemic therapy was associated with improved progression-free survival in the total study population of patients...
In an analysis from the IBIS-II prevention trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Jack Cuzick, PhD, and colleagues found that increasing the ratio of baseline estradiol level to sex hormone–binding globulin (SHBG) was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in high-risk postmenopausal...
Peter Schmid, MD, PhD, of Queen Mary University of London and Barts Cancer Institute, discusses phase III findings from KEYNOTE-522 showing that neoadjuvant pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy followed by adjuvant pembrolizumab continues to show a clinically meaningful improvement in event-free survival compared with neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone in patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) (Abstract LBO1-01).
Cynthia X. Ma, MD, PhD, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, discusses phase I findings showing the safety and tolerability of copanlisib and fulvestrant in combination with continuous or intermittent abemaciclib in patients with estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. Preliminary antitumor activity, which was observed, will be further examined in the phase II trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03939897) (Abstract PS17-06).
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, and colleagues, a 5-year analysis of the IDEA trial showed a very low rate of recurrence with the omission of radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery in patients at low clinical and genomic risk for disease ...
Adding the antibody-drug conjugate ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) to the HER2-targeted agent tucatinib extended progression-free survival by about 2 months vs treatment with T-DM1 alone among patients with unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, according to...
Hope S. Rugo, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses patient-reported outcomes from the phase III CAPItello-291 study; the trial centered on adding capivasertib to fulvestrant in patients with aromatase inhibitor–resistant, hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer. Patients treated with capivasertib and fulvestrant reported maintained health-related quality of life longer than those treated with placebo and fulvestrant (Abstract PS02-02).
Eleftherios P. Mamounas, MD, of Orlando Health Cancer Institute, discusses primary outcomes from the NRG Oncology/NSABP B-51/RTOG 1304 study of locoregional irradiation in patients with biopsy-proven axillary node involvement at presentation who become pathologically node-negative after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (Abstract GS02-07).
Nadia Harbeck, MD, PhD, of LMU University Hospital and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and Daniel Kates-Harbeck, of the West German Study Group and an MD Candidate at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, discuss a learning-based neural network developed by Mr. Kates-Harbeck to predict treatment outcomes in early breast cancer as well as potentially other tumor types (Abstract PO 04 1-10).
Luca Gianni, MD, of Milan’s Fondazione Michelangelo, discusses findings from the APTneo Michelangelo trial, which showed that adding atezolizumab to chemotherapy and trastuzumab plus pertuzumab did not significantly increase the rate of pathologic complete response (pCR) in women with HER2-positive breast cancer. An exploratory analysis showed that adding atezolizumab to neoadjuvant anthracycline and cyclophosphamide followed by HPCT (trastuzumab + pertuzumab and chemotherapy) led to higher pCR rates than HPCT and atezolizumab (Abstract LBO1-02).
Oleg Gluz, MD, of the West German Study Group and Breast Center Niederrhein, discusses the impact of age and ovarian function suppression in response to preoperative endocrine treatment for both pre- and postmenopausal patients with early-stage breast cancer. He describes ways in which the outcome data of the ADAPTcycle study might influence clinical decisions (Abstract LBO1-05).
Barbara Pistilli, MD, of France’s Gustave Roussy, discusses a phase Ib analysis from the CAPItello-292 study, which showed capivasertib plus palbociclib plus fulvestrant was tolerable at all dose levels in heavily pretreated patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer. As data collection continues, evidence of clinical activity has been observed in patients treated with the recommended phase III dose (Abstract PS12-09).
Sherene Loi, MD, PhD, of Australia’s Peter McCallum Cancer Centre, discusses an exploratory analysis of CheckMate 7FL which showed that patients with PD-L1–positive, high-risk, estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative primary breast cancer may achieve substantial pathologic complete response rates with the addition of nivolumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (Abstract GS01-01).
Sherene Loi, MD, PhD, of Australia’s Peter McCallum Cancer Centre, discusses recent data showing that for patients with stage I/II triple-negative breast cancer, 12 weeks of a neoadjuvant nonanthracycline chemotherapy regimen with nivolumab may be efficacious with either concurrent or lead-in nivolumab. Those with immune-enriched tumors had high pathologic complete response rates, identifying a subpopulation for whom a 12-week anthracycline-free chemotherapy regimen with nivolumab may be appropriate (Abstract LBO1-03).
Aditya Bardia, MD, MPH, of Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, discusses phase III findings from the KEYNOTE-756 study, which showed that adding pembrolizumab to chemotherapy increases the pathologic complete response rate and lowers the residual cancer burden in patients with early-stage, high-risk ER-positive or HER2-negative breast cancer (Abstract GS01-02).
Daniel G. Stover, MD, of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses a biomarker analysis from the PALLAS adjuvant trial, which compared 2 years of the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib with endocrine therapy vs endocrine therapy alone, as adjuvant treatment for patients with stage II–III hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. The genomic subtype PAM50 was defined in the protocol of the PALLAS trial as the primary biomarker for analysis of prediction and prognosis (Abstract GS03-07).
Senthil Damodaran, MD, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses final results from the FOENIX-MBC2 study of the efficacy and safety of futibatinib in patients with locally advanced or metastatic hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer harboring high-level FGFR1 gene amplification. Futibatinib plus fulvestrant showed antitumor activity in those whose disease had progressed on prior CDK4/6 inhibitors (Abstract RF01-04).