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Breast Cancer

PHEREXA: Benefit for Second-Line Pertuzumab Questionable

In the second-line metastatic breast cancer setting, the addition of pertuzumab (Perjeta) to trastuzumab (Herceptin)/capecitabine did not significantly improve progression-free survival, results of the phase III ­PHEREXA trial showed.1 This is the first randomized trial to evaluate the efficacy of ...

Breast Cancer

Results of Two Practice-Changing Breast Cancer Trials Upheld

Results of two pivotal breast cancer trials reported at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting confirmed the practice-changing findings that resulted from earlier findings. PALOMA-2 The phase III PALOMA-2 trial confirmed results from the smaller, open-label phase II PALOMA-1 trial that led to the U.S. Food...

breast cancer

Stress and Adverse Life Events Unlikely to Cause Breast Cancer

Day-to-day psychological stress and adverse life events are unlikely to increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer, according to a new prospective study published by Schoemaker et al in Breast Cancer Research. Women with breast cancer often consider stress as a likely cause of their ...

breast cancer
symptom management

Preclinical Study Shows Target of Trastuzumab, Receptor Protein ErbB2, Needed for Coronary Vasculature Patterning

A receptor protein that is the target of the breast cancer drug trastuzumab (Herceptin) is needed for proper heart blood vessel development, reported researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. They published their findings this month in a paper ...

breast cancer

Better 10-Year Survival Reported With Breast-Conserving Surgery and Radiotherapy vs Mastectomy in Early Breast Cancer

In a Dutch population-based study reported in The Lancet Oncology, van Maaren et al found that breast-conserving surgery plus radiotherapy was associated with improved 10-year survival vs mastectomy in women with early breast cancer. Study Details The study included data from 37,207 women from...

breast cancer

New Analysis Evaluates Predictors of Persistent Pain After Breast Cancer Surgery

An analysis led by McMaster University researchers has found that women who undergo armpit lymph node surgery for breast cancer are much more likely to develop chronic pain. Wang et al published their review of studies exploring risk factors for developing chronic pain after breast cancer...

breast cancer

Survey Asks Women Whom They Trust Most When Selecting Breast Cancer Surgery and Reviews Postsurgical Satisfaction

A research team led by Rebecca M. Kwait, MD, Breast Health Fellow at The Breast Health Center at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, recently presented research indicating that when faced with a decision on the type of surgery to have for breast cancer, more women trust their own judgment ...

Breast Cancer
Survivorship
Supportive Care

Managing Upper Extremity Dysfunction in Breast Cancer Survivors

With an increased number of breast cancer survivors and patients with metastatic disease living longer, it is imperative for oncology care providers to manage issues of new and chronic upper extremity dysfunction as a result of the malignancy itself or its treatment. As one of my patients...

Breast Cancer

Detection of Breast Cancer With Ultrasound vs Tomosynthesis in Women With Mammography-Negative Dense Breasts

As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Alberto S. Tagliafico, MD, of the University of Genoa, and colleagues, interim findings in the Italian prospective ASTOUND study indicate that ultrasound is associated with improved incremental detection of breast cancer at screening compared with ...

Breast Cancer

Greatest Benefit of Adjuvant Exemestane in Premenopausal Women at Higher Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence

In an analysis of the SOFT and TEXT trials reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Meredith M. Regan, ScD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and colleagues found that the greatest benefit of adjuvant exemestane in reducing breast cancer recurrence was among women with the greatest risk of...

Breast Cancer

Mixed Results With Resection of Primary Tumor in Stage IV Breast Cancer

For de novo stage IV breast cancer, does resection of the primary tumor improve outcomes? Two studies presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting reached different conclusions. A prospective randomized study conducted in Turkey concluded there is a survival benefit at 5 years,1 whereas a U.S....

Breast Cancer

Pertuzumab-Containing Regimens Compared for Neoadjuvant Treatment in Early Breast Cancer

In patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer, pathologic complete response rates after neoadjuvant therapy were higher with docetaxel plus carboplatin plus trastuzumab (Herceptin) plus pertuzumab (Perjeta), or TCH+P, than with ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla) plus pertuzumab, or T-DM1+P,...

Breast Cancer

EBCTCG Analysis Identifies Recurrence Risk by Tumor Subgroup in Estrogen Receptor–Positive Breast Cancer

The risk of recurrence in estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer is known to continue after 5 years, but just how much is that risk once endocrine therapy is stopped? The Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (EBCTCG) has concluded it is “appreciable,” with distant recurrences...

breast cancer

Approximately 20% of Older Women With Early Breast Cancer Experience Some Form of Functional Decline After Treatment

In a study of older women with newly diagnosed stage I to III breast cancer, approximately 1 in 5 lost the ability to complete some of the basic tasks necessary for independent living within 1 year of initiating treatment. The study also found that a simple survey can help identify which women are...

breast cancer

No Advantage With Cyclophosphamide/Methotrexate Maintenance in Hormone Receptor–Negative Early Breast Cancer, but Subgroup May Benefit

Low-dose oral cyclophosphamide plus methotrexate maintenance therapy yielded no disease-free survival benefit in women with hormone receptor–negative early breast cancer, according to the phase III International Breast Cancer Study Group (IBCSG) 22-00 trial. Some evidence of benefit was...

breast cancer

Influence of Microbiota of Breast Tissue on the Development of Cancers

Bacteria that have the potential to abet breast cancer are present in the breasts of cancer patients, while beneficial bacteria are more abundant in healthy breasts, where they may actually be protecting women from cancer, according to Gregor Reid, PhD, of the Lawson Health Research Institute, and...

Breast Cancer

Surgery and Radiation Therapy Remain Standard of Care for Managing Ductal Carcinoma in Situ

A review of more than 50 studies (many randomized controlled trials) concluded that surgery and radiation therapy “remain standard-of-care treatment options” in the management of ductal carcinoma in situ.1 The review continues the widely reported discussion on managing ductal carcinoma in situ,...

Breast Cancer

Pembrolizumab in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Emerging New Treatment Modality

Lajos Pusztai, MD, DPhil, Professor of Medicine, Chief of Breast Medical Oncology and Co-Director of Cancer Genetics Research Program at Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, Connecticut, commented on ­KEYNOTE-012. He remarked that the overall response rate of 18.5% to the single agent is similar to...

breast cancer

Hypofractionated Radiation Found Equivalent to Conventionally Fractionated Regimen in Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Early-stage breast cancer patients receiving a shorter course of whole-breast irradiation with higher radiation doses per fraction reported equivalent cosmetic, functional, and pain outcomes over time as those receiving a longer, lower-dose per fraction course of treatment, according to researchers ...

Breast Cancer
Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer

Pembrolizumab Active in PD-L1–Positive Advanced Gastric Cancer and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

The KEYNOTE-012 phase Ib trial assessed single-agent pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with advanced programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)–positive gastric cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, urothelial cancer, and head and neck cancer. The activity of pembrolizumab in study patients with...

Breast Cancer

Trastuzumab Biosimilar Shows Efficacy and Safety Comparable to Reference Product in Phase III HERITAGE Trial

A new biosimilar version of the monoclonal antibody trastuzu­mab (Herceptin) is getting close to the finish line in the race to develop biosimilars in oncology. The new antibody, MYL-1401O, demonstrated comparable efficacy and safety compared with trastuzumab as front-line treatment of women with...

Breast Cancer

Joint Analysis Confirms Benefit of Anthracyclines for High-Risk Early-Stage Breast Cancer

For the treatment of high-risk, HER2-negative early-stage breast cancer, anthracyclines were confirmed as beneficial in a joint analysis of the Anthracyclines in Early Breast Cancer (ABC) trials. Presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting, the joint analysis of the ABC trials validated taxane plus...

breast cancer

SNMMI 2016: VASH Collimator Allows Three-Dimensional Imaging of the Breast With Less Radiation

Preliminary tests have demonstrated that a new device may enable existing breast cancer imagers to provide up to six times better contrast of tumors in the breast, while maintaining the same or better image quality and halving the radiation dose to patients. The advance is made possible by a new...

breast cancer
symptom management

Mindfulness-Based Stress-Reduction Program May Reduce Psychological and Physical Symptoms in Breast Cancer Survivors

A mindfulness-based stress-reduction program for breast cancer survivors was associated with psychological and physical symptom benefits during and at 6 weeks after intervention, according to a randomized trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Lengacher et al. Study Details In the...

Breast Cancer

PALOMA-3 Trial in HER2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer: Challenge of Moving Beyond Estrogen Receptor Positivity

Hormone receptor–positive breast cancer represents the largest therapeutic subgroup of the disease. The development of endocrine therapies has shaped the treatment paradigm for both advanced- and early-stage disease for decades.1 Still, despite their significant impact, advanced breast cancer...

Breast Cancer

Prolonged Progression-Free Survival With Addition of Palbociclib to Fulvestrant in HER2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer

As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Massimo Cristofanilli, MD, of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, and colleagues, the final results of the phase III PALOMA-3 trial showed that the addition of the CDK4/CDK6 inhibitor palbociclib (Ibrance) to fulvestrant...

Breast Cancer

Ovarian Suppression in Premenopausal Women With Estrogen Receptor–Positive Breast Cancer

Oophorectomy was the first proposed form of endocrine therapy for women with breast cancer. Over 100 years ago, Thomas Nunn reported a relationship between menopause and regression of breast cancer.1 This incited interest in the induction of menopause as an anticancer therapy, and in 1986, a...

Breast Cancer

ASCO Clinical Practice Guideline Update on Ovarian Suppression/Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy in Hormone Receptor–Positive Breast Cancer

As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Harold J. Burstein, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and colleagues, ASCO has released a clinical practice guideline update on ovarian suppression as part of the extant guideline on adjuvant endocrine therapy in hormone...

breast cancer

Lisa A. Carey, MD, and Nicholas C. Turner, MD, PhD, on PALOMA-2 and -3 Study Findings in Advanced Breast Cancer

Lisa A. Carey, MD, of the University of North Carolina, and Nicholas C. Turner, MD, PhD, of The Royal Marsden Hospital and Institute of Cancer Research, discuss the efficacy of palbociclib plus fulvestrant in patients with ESR1 mutations in circulating tumor DNA, and palbociclib and letrozole for postmenopausal women with ER+/HER2–advanced breast cancer (Abstracts 507, 524).

Breast Cancer
Global Cancer Care

Rising Breast Cancer Incidence in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Opportunities

The incidence of new cases of breast cancer in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan ­Africa, is rising, and it will take a concerted effort from the international cancer community to counteract this troubling upward trend. It has been estimated that of the 15 million cancer ...

Breast Cancer

Additional 5 Years of Letrozole May Benefit Some Postmenopausal Women With Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Five years of aromatase inhibitor as upfront therapy or after tamoxifen is the current standard of care for postmenopausal women with early hormone receptor–positive breast cancer. A new trial suggests that extending aromatase inhibitor therapy with letrozole for an additional 5 years may improve...

breast cancer
cost of care

ASCO 2016: Significant Cost Differences Found Among Breast Cancer Chemotherapy Regimens

Costs associated with different breast cancer chemotherapy regimens can vary significantly, regardless of effectiveness, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Understanding cost differences should help guide informed discussions between patients and...

breast cancer
gynecologic cancers

Lisa A. Carey, MD, and Tuya Pal, MD, on BRCA Carriers: The Disparities in Management

Lisa A. Carey, MD, of the University of North Carolina, and Tuya Pal, MD, of H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, discuss the racial disparities in cancer risk management among BRCA carriers across a diverse sample of young black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white breast cancer survivors (Abstract LBA1504).

breast cancer

Lisa A. Carey, MD, and Julie Gralow, MD: Top Breast Cancer Papers Presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting

Lisa A. Carey, MD, of the University of North Carolina, and Julie Gralow, MD, of the University of Washington, discuss the most important data presented this year on treating breast malignancies (Abstracts LBA1, 500, and 507).

breast cancer

Exercise Associated With Reduced Risk of Cardiovascular Events in Women With Nonmetastatic Breast Cancer

Greater levels of leisure-time physical activity were associated with a reduced risk for cardiovascular disease events in women with nonmetastatic breast cancer, according to a study reported by Jones et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Study Details The study involved 2,973 women (mean...

breast cancer
solid tumors

Prognostic Impact of Recurrence Score and Estrogen Receptor Expression in Breast Cancer After 5 Years of Tamoxifen

As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Wolmark et al, higher 21-gene recurrence score (RS) was strongly predictive of late disease recurrence among patients with high quantitative estrogen-receptor expression (ESR1) receiving tamoxifen for 5 years in two NRG Oncology/NSABP (National...

breast cancer

ASCO 2016: Minority BRCA-Positive Breast Cancer Survivors Appear Less Likely to Receive Preventive Surgery

For breast cancer survivors who carry mutations in BRCA genes, preventive surgery may substantially reduce the risk of future breast and ovarian cancers. However, it appears that black women are far less likely to receive these widely recommended procedures than white or Hispanic...

breast cancer

Paul E. Goss, MD, PhD, on Postmenopausal Early-Stage Breast Cancer: Extending Letrozole Treatment

Paul E. Goss, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School, discusses disease-free survival results from a study extending adjuvant letrozole for 5 years after completing an initial 5 years of aromatase inhibitor therapy alone or preceded by tamoxifen (Abstract LBA1).

breast cancer

Julie Lemieux, MD, on Letrozole in Postmenopausal Early-Stage Breast Cancer: Patient-Reported Outcomes

Julie Lemieux, MD, of Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec, discusses patient-reported outcomes from a study extending adjuvant letrozole for 5 years after completing an initial 5 years of aromatase inhibitor therapy alone or preceded by tamoxifen (Abstract LBA506). To see the French language version of this discussion, click here.

breast cancer

Julie Lemieux, MD, on Letrozole in Postmenopausal Early-Stage Breast Cancer: Patient-Reported Outcomes (French Language)

Julie Lemieux, MD, of Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec, discusses in French patient-reported outcomes from a study extending adjuvant letrozole for 5 years after completing an initial 5 years of aromatase inhibitor therapy alone or preceded by tamoxifen (Abstract LBA506).   To see the English language version of this video, please click here.

breast cancer

ASCO 2016: 10 Years of Aromatase Inhibitor Therapy Reduces Breast Cancer Recurrence Without Compromising Quality of Life in Postmenopausal Patients

For updated findings on aromatase inhibitor therapy from the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, please click here, here, or here. A randomized phase III clinical trial, MA.17R, found that postmenopausal women with early breast cancer benefit from extending aromatase inhibitor therapy with...

breast cancer

Nikhil Wagle, MD, on The Metastatic Breast Cancer Project: Progress Report

Nikhil Wagle, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the strides made in this national direct-to-patient initiative to accelerate genomics research (Abstract LBA1519).

breast cancer

ASCO 2016: Locoregional Surgery Followed by Standard Therapy Improves Survival vs Standard Therapy Alone in Stage IV Breast Cancer

Surgery to remove the primary tumor in women diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer followed by standard combination therapies improved survival over standard therapy alone, an international clinical trial revealed. The results of the phase III randomized, controlled trial were presented today...

breast cancer

Hope S. Rugo, MD, on HER2+ Breast Cancer: Findings on a Trastuzumab Biosimilar

Hope S. Rugo, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, discusses phase III study results on a new possible alternative to trastuzumab for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer: the biosimilar known as Myl-1401O (Abstract LBA503).

breast cancer

ASCO 2016: Innovative Direct-to-Patient Outreach May Accelerate Breast Cancer Research

An innovative project launched in October 2015 may help expedite metastatic breast cancer genomics research and provide leads for development of new treatments. In the 7 months since the launch, more than 2,000 patients have enrolled in the research study designed to collect and...

breast cancer

ASCO 2016: Biosimilar Shows Comparable Efficacy and Safety to Trastuzumab in HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer

A biosimilar trastuzumab antibody (MYL-1401O) is comparable in efficacy and safety to trastuzumab (Herceptin) in women with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer, according to a randomized phase III study. The response rates were comparable among women who received trastuzumab and among...

breast cancer
solid tumors

Poorer Adherence to Endocrine Treatment Associated With Poorer Outcome in Postmenopausal Hormone Receptor–Positive Breast Cancer

In an analysis of the Breast International Group (BIG) 1-98 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Chirgwin et al found that poorer adherence to endocrine therapy was associated with poorer disease-free survival in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer ...

breast cancer

ASCO Guideline on Endocrine Therapy for Hormone Receptor–Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer

As reported by Hope S. Rugo, MD, of the University of California San Francisco Comprehensive Cancer Center, and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, ASCO has released a clinical practice guideline on endocrine therapy for hormone receptor–positive metastatic breast cancer. The...

breast cancer

Breast Cancer Risk From Modifiable and Nonmodifiable Risk Factors Among White Women in the United States

A model developed to estimate the absolute risk of breast cancer suggests that a 30-year-old white woman in the United States has an 11.3% risk, on average, of developing invasive breast cancer by the age of 80, according to a new study published by Maas et al in JAMA Oncology. Breast cancer is a...

breast cancer
solid tumors

Early Lapatinib-Related Rash Associated With Improved Outcome in Breast Cancer

An analysis of the phase III adjuvant ALTTO trial showed that early rash was associated with better clinical outcome with lapatinib (Tykerb) treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer, as reported by Sonnenblick et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. It had been previously found that...

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