Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) recently announced an initiative to increase minority representation in cancer clinical trials. All future SU2C-supported research grant proposals will now be required to include and address crucial issues related to recruitment and retention of patients from ethnic groups ...
Susan G. Komen recently announced new organizational advisory roles for five breast cancer oncologists. The new appointees will join the group of breast cancer researchers, clinicians, and advocates who help guide the organization’s work, particularly through the organization’s $988 million...
The ASCO Post issue of June 25, 2017, did an excellent job of summarizing the results and controversy generated by the initial results of the APHINITY trial, reported at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting and published simultaneously online in The New England Journal of Medicine.1 With a median follow-up ...
Staying up-to-date in the fast-paced world of oncology literature is a daunting task at best. To assist with that task, The ASCO Post has assembled an assortment of studies recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The topics range from therapy for stage IV non–small cell lung cancer...
ASCO and the Conquer Cancer Foundation (CCF) proudly announce the winners of ASCO’s Special Awards, the Society’s highest honors, and the CCF Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award. The recipients of these awards include researchers, patient advocates, and global oncology leaders who have worked ...
ASCO and the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO (CCF) have proudly announced the winners of ASCO's Special Awards, the Society's highest honors, and the CCF Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award. The recipients of these awards include researchers, patient advocates, and global oncology leaders...
In an analysis of outcomes in the North Central Cancer Treatment Group/Alliance N9831 trial reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Edith A. Perez, MD, of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, and colleagues found that patients with tumors scored as HER2-enriched or luminal subtype...
In the phase III MARIANNE trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Perez et al found that ado-trastuzumab emtansine (formerly known as T-DM1; Kadcyla) was associated with noninferior progression-free survival compared with trastuzumab (Herceptin) plus taxane in patients with...
Edith A. Perez, MD, of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, discusses abstract S1-06, “Stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes: In the Alliance N9831 trial S-TILs are associated with chemotherapy benefit but not associated with trastuzumab benefit.”
William J. Gradishar, MD, of Northwestern University, and Edith A. Perez of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, discuss immunotherapy and the highlights of the BOLERO-1 and SOFT trials.
Seminal research in the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer has been led by Edith A. Perez, MD, the Serene M. and Frances C. Durling Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida. The ASCO Post asked Dr. Perez to share her approach to HER2-directed therapy. Testing...
The Adjuvant Lapatinib and/or Trastuzumab Treatment Optimization (ALTTO) study, which is evaluating various anti-HER2 therapy approaches in breast cancer, has discontinued the single-agent lapatinib (Tykerb) arm, according to study sponsor GlaxoSmithKline. Following a preplanned interim analysis...
We conducted this study to clarify a hypothesis that had been generated from preclinical work and small clinical datasets. One additional background point that should be made is that although not all previously reported small datasets had demonstrated a relationship between PTEN expression and...
PTEN is a negative regulator of PI3K/AKT signaling. PI3K/AKT signaling can be activated by HER2, and it has been hypothesized that alteration in this pathway may affect sensitivity to trastuzumab (Herceptin). Preclinical data and some of the limited available clinical data suggest that loss or...
The PrefHer trial provides notable data showing that > 90% of patients favored the quicker subcutaneous administration of trastuzumab (Herceptin) compared to the standard intravenous infusion. The primary reasons for this preference, as per patients in the trial, included that it was timesaving...
Commenting on the I-SPY 2 neratinib results presented at the 2014 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, Edith Perez, MD, Deputy Director at Large, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, Jacksonville, Florida, said that results were consistent with other data. “Testing for HER2...
The highly anticipated results from the phase III ALTTO trial show no additional benefit for adding lapatinib (Tykerb) to trastuzumab (Herceptin) in the adjuvant treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer.1 The results were presented at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting’s Plenary Session by Martine J....
Improved relapse-free survival following treatment with adjuvant trastuzumab (Herceptin) appears to be associated with a heightened state of immunologic function, according to genomic analysis that resulted in a 14-gene profile predictive of outcomes in the landmark NCCTG (Alliance) N9831 trial.1...
This analysis demonstrates excellent news related to the long-term benefit of adding 1 year of trastuzumab (Herceptin) starting with the paclitaxel portion of adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with resected HER2-positive breast cancer. The study reflects the fact that excellent science in...
Earlier planned joint analyses of outcomes in the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B-31 trial and the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) N9831 trial showed that adding trastuzumab (Herceptin) to adjuvant chemotherapy improved disease-free survival and overall...
Highlighted here are summaries of four abstracts presented at the 2014 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: They focus on the EPO-ANE-3010 clinical trial of epoetin alfa (Epogen, Procrit) in anemic patients with metastatic breast cancer, a New York Cancer Consortium trial of fulvestrant (Faslodex)...
The results of the SOFT trial—presented at the 2014 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, reported recently by Francis et al in The New England Journal of Medicine,1 and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post—were not as conclusive as we had hoped. In essence, the study enrolled women with resected ...
In a phase III trial (SOFT) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Prudence A. Francis, MD, of Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia, Meredith M. Regan, ScD, of IBCSG Statistical Centre at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and colleagues found that the addition of...
The members of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) have elected five members to serve on the AACR board of directors for the 2015–2018 term and four members to serve on the nominating committee for the 2015–2017 term. They will begin their terms at the AACR Annual Meeting 2015, to...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Edith A. Perez, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, and colleagues found that an immune function gene profile was associated with significantly improved relapse-free survival among patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer who...
Two agents targeting novel pathways show promise in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, according to separate studies presented at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting and reviewed at the Best of ASCO® meeting by Steven J. Isakoff, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. The first study...
Researchers on Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus have been awarded a $13.3 million, 5-year federal grant to test a vaccine designed to prevent the recurrence of triple-negative breast cancer. This Breakthrough Award from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Breast Cancer Research Program will fund a...
In the phase III BEACON trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Perez et al found that etirinotecan pegol was not associated with a significant increase in overall survival compared with physician’s choice of treatment in women with locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer previously...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Advani et al, the cumulative incidence of cardiac events remained significantly higher at 6 years in breast cancer patients who received adjuvant trastuzumab (Herceptin) in the NCCTG N9831/Alliance trial. However, few new congestive heart failure...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Perez et al found that an immune function gene profile was associated with significantly improved relapse-free survival among patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer who had trastuzumab (Herceptin) added to adjuvant chemotherapy ...
Women with HER2-positive breast cancer who had high levels of immune cells in their tumors had a decreased risk of cancer recurrence after treatment with chemotherapy alone compared with their counterparts who had low levels of tumor-infiltrating immune cells, according to data presented at the...
Earlier planned joint analyses of outcomes in the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B-31 trial and North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) N9831 trial showed that adding trastuzumab (Herceptin) to adjuvant chemotherapy improved disease-free survival and overall...
A large phase III study, ALTTO (Adjuvant Lapatinib and/or Trastuzumab Treatment Optimisation), found no statistically significant differences in 4-year disease-free survival among women with early HER2-positive breast cancer who received adjuvant treatment that combined the HER2-targeted drugs...