Elizabeth McDonald, MD, PhD, on GLP-1 Agonists and Breast Cancer Incidence
Elizabeth McDonald, MD, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania, discusses results from a retrospective cohort study that showed that the use of GLP-1 treatment was associated with a significantly lower incidence of breast cancer, after accounting for age, race, ethnicity, BMI, breast density, and type 2 diabetes status (Abstract 10506).
Which Genes Contribute to Early-Onset Breast Cancer in Black Women?
Black women experience disproportionately elevated risks of developing and dying from early-onset breast cancer. New research published by Beasley et al in Cancer reveals the genes that are most likely to be mutated to contribute to these increased risks. In the study of 686 Black women diagnosed...
Walter Weber, MD, on Implant-Based Breast Reconstruction Techniques After Mastectomy
Walter Weber, MD, of University Hospital Basel, presents data from the international randomized phase III PREPEC trial (OPBC-02), which found prepectoral implant-based breast reconstruction (IBBR) significantly and relevantly improved long-term quality of life—at the cost of a higher risk of loss or replacement of expander or implant—compared to subpectoral IBBR (Abstract 504).
Five-Year Survival Analysis: Neoadjuvant Trastuzumab/Pertuzumab Plus Endocrine Therapy or Chemotherapy in HR-Positive/HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
In an analysis of the German phase II WSG TP-II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gluz et al found that neoadjuvant trastuzumab/pertuzumab with endocrine therapy (ET) or paclitaxel were both associated with high rates of 5-year overall survival in patients with hormone receptor...
Erika P. Hamilton, MD, FASCO, on HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer: Maintenance Therapy Comparison
Erika P. Hamilton, MD, FASCO, of Sarah Cannon Research Institute, talks about a comparison of the efficacy and safety of tucatinib vs placebo combined with trastuzumab and pertuzumab as maintenance therapy for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer by stratified subgroups (Abstract 1005).
Yashasvini Sampathkumar, MD, on Job Retention Intervention for Patients Undergoing Breast Cancer Therapy: Digital vs Print Format
Yashasvini Sampathkumar, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, presents data on Talking to Employers and Medical Staff about Work (TEAMWork), an English/Spanish intervention. The English/Spanish intervention, delivered as a booklet or mobile app, was developed to improve work outcomes among women undergoing breast cancer therapy. Dr. Sampathkumar discusses whether the digital vs print format was preferable among this population (Abstract 11060).
GLP-1 RAs May Be Associated With Lower Breast Cancer Incidence
Exposure to glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) may lower the risk of breast cancer incidence, according to findings from a retrospective analysis presented at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 10506). The findings were also published in JCO Oncology Practice. “While our...
Robert C. Stein, PhD, MBBChir, FRCP, on ER-Positive HER2-Negative Early Breast Cancer: Test-Directed Chemotherapy
Robert C. Stein, PhD, MBBChir, FRCP, of the National Institute for Health Research University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, discusses the first results from the phase III randomized OPTIMA trial, which is comparing chemotherapy decisions made with the Prosigna (PAM50) gene expression test with standard treatment with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer (Abstract 500).
Kevin Kalinsky, MD, MS, FASCO, on Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: More Results From ASCENT-04
Kevin Kalinsky, MD, MS, FASCO, of Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, provides an update focusing on progression-free survival after next line of treatment and subsequent therapies among patients enrolled in the ASCENT-04 trial. The study compared sacituzumab govitecan plus pembrolizumab vs chemotherapy plus pembrolizumab in patients with previously untreated PD-L1–positive metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (Abstract LBA1000).
Nicholas C. Turner, MD, PhD, on ER-Positive, HER2-Negative Advanced Breast Cancer: persevERA BC Trial
Nicholas C. Turner, MD, PhD, of the Royal Marsden Hospital, Institute of Cancer Research, discusses results from the primary analysis of the persevERA BC trial, which investigated giredestrant plus palbociclib vs letrozole plus palbociclib as first-line therapy in patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer (Abstract LBA1006).
Phase III Trial Shows Noninferiority for Test-Guided Chemotherapy Decisions in ER-Positive/HER2-Negative Early Breast Cancer
Individuals with estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative, high-risk early breast cancer and low Prosigna (PAM50) risk of recurrence (ROR) scores of 60 or less were able to safely skip chemotherapy, according to findings from a randomized, noninferiority phase III trial presented at the 2026 ASCO...
Cochrane Review Finds Current Breast Cancer Risk Models Have Limited Accuracy in Women With a Family History of Disease
A comprehensive Cochrane review presented at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting suggests that commonly used breast cancer risk prediction models provide only modest accuracy in identifying which women with a family history of breast cancer will ultimately develop the disease (Abstract 10545). Although...
Sacituzumab Govitecan With Pembrolizumab Extends PFS2 in PD-L1–Positive Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Results from the global phase III ASCENT-04 clinical trial found that sacituzumab govitecan combined with pembrolizumab improved progression-free survival 2 (PFS2) in patients with PD-L1–positive metastatic triple-negative breast cancer when compared to chemotherapy with pembrolizumab. PFS2 is an...
Jana de Boniface, MD, PhD, on Breast Cancer With Sentinel Lymph Node Macrometastases: Can Axillary Dissection Be Omitted?
Jana de Boniface, MD, PhD, of Capio Saint Göran's Hospital and Karolinska Institutet, reviews overall survival and patient-reported arm morbidity findings from the SENOMAC trial, which sought to determine if patients with breast cancer and sentinel lymph node macrometastases could omit complete axillary dissection (Abstract LBA503).
Many Patients With Limited Sentinel Node–Positive Breast Cancer Can Safely Avoid Axillary Dissection, Study Shows
Updated results from the phase III SENOMAC trial suggest that many patients with early-stage breast cancer and limited spread to sentinel lymph nodes can safely forgo axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), avoiding substantial long-term arm morbidity without compromising survival. The findings were ...
Peter Schmid, MD, PhD, FRCP, on ER-Positive HER2-Negative Early Breast Cancer: Giredestrant by Menopausal Status
Peter Schmid, MD, PhD, FRCP, of Queen Mary University of London, shares more data from the phase III lidERA BC clinical trial. This analysis focused on the efficacy and safety of giredestrant in patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer, looking at both premenopausal and postmenopausal populations (Abstract 502).
Siddhartha Yadav, MBBS, MD, on Germline Pathogenic Variants Among Patients With Breast or Ovarian Cancer
Siddhartha Yadav, MBBS, MD, of Mayo Clinic Rochester, talks about a real-world evaluation of germline pathogenic variants in cancer predisposition genes in unselected South Asian women with breast or ovarian cancer (Abstract 10513).
Martine J. Piccart-Gebhart, MD, PhD, on Personalizing Treatments in HR-Positive/HER2-Negative Breast Cancer
Martine J. Piccart-Gebhart, MD, PhD, of Jules Bordet Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles, reviews multiple abstracts discussing avenues of personalized treatment for patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, including genomic testing and systemic therapy.
Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, FACP, on Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: More Results From ASCENT-03
Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, FACP, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, provides an update focusing on progression-free survival after next line of treatment and subsequent therapies among patients enrolled in the ASCENT-03 trial. The study compared sacituzumab govitecan vs chemotherapy in patients with previously untreated metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (Abstract 1001).
Lymph Node Surgery and CDK4/6 Inhibitor Treatment in Early Breast Cancer
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Pfob et al, a pooled analysis of randomized trials showed that performance of lymph node surgery for the sole purpose of determining eligibility for CDK4/6 inhibitor treatment does not appear to be a promising strategy in patients with early breast cancer. As...
ASCO Collaborates With Ryght AI to Accelerate Site Selection for Metastatic Breast Cancer Trial
ASCO has announced a collaboration with Ryght AI aimed at accelerating the identification and activation of research sites for the CDK4/6 Inhibitor Dosing Knowledge (CDK) Study, a clinical trial evaluating different starting doses of CDK4/6 inhibitors in patients with metastatic breast cancer. The...
Local Radiotherapy May Help Control Oligometastatic Breast Cancer
Local radiotherapy may help control disease spread in patients with oligometastatic breast cancer, according to findings from the OLIGOMA trial presented during the Congress of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO 2026; Abstract 5611). “Currently, patients with oligometastatic ...
TAILORx and RxPONDER Trials Shift to a Discovery Platform
The ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, in collaboration with the SWOG Cancer Research Network, has launched a new initiative to analyze paired original and recurrent tumor specimens from two practice-changing breast cancer clinical trials. Through the translational study EA1241, researchers will...
Early Breast Cancer: Is Surgery Omission Possible Following Estrogen and Ablative Radiation Therapy?
Select patients with early-stage breast cancer who achieved exceptional responses to ablative radiation therapy and endocrine therapy were able to omit surgery without disease progression, according to findings from a prospective phase II trial presented during the Congress of the European Society...
Outcomes in Patients With Breast Cancer and Obesity or T2D Receiving GLP-1 RAs
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Network Open, Tatum et al found that use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) was associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality in patients with breast cancer and obesity or type 2 diabetes (T2D). Study Details The study...
Long-Term EORTC Trial Challenges Assumptions About Lymph Node Radiation Therapy in Breast Cancer
Final results from a landmark European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) randomized trial with more than 20 years of follow-up have shown that irradiation of the internal mammary and medial supraclavicular (IM-MS) lymph nodes reduces breast cancer mortality but does not...
Case 3: Managing Toxicity to Maintain Long-Term Benefit
This is Part 3 of Shared Decisions, Better Outcome: Collaboration in Managing Targeted Therapy for HR-Positive/HER2-Negative Breast Cancer, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this roundtable. In this video, Erika Hamilton, MD, Melissa Rikal, MSN, FNP-BC, AOCNP®, and Heather Moore, CPP, PharmD, discuss collaborative strategies for managing capivasertib toxicities in breast cancer. The patient is a 67-year-old woman with de novo hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer whose disease progressed on letrozole plus ribociclib and was found to have a PIK3CA mutation on next-generation sequencing. Notable comorbidities include diet-controlled type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, GERD, and a prior history of eczema. The faculty highlight proactive strategies to lessen the impact of toxicities, including the use of metformin or SGLT2 inhibitors to mitigate hyperglycemia and prophylactic antihistimines or topical steroids to help manage rashes. They also address how comorbidities such as chronic kidney disease influence antihyperglycemic drug selection, the importance of drug interaction awareness, grading toxicities by body surface area involvement, and the careful sequencing of holds and dose reductions to keep patients on effective therapy long-term.
Case 2: Promoting Adherence Through Early Management Strategies
This is Part 2 of Shared Decisions, Better Outcome: Collaboration in Managing Targeted Therapy for HR-Positive/HER2-Negative Breast Cancer, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this roundtable. In this video, Erika Hamilton, MD, Melissa Rikal, MSN, FNP-BC, AOCNP®, and Heather Moore, CPP, PharmD, discuss multidisciplinary strategies for managing targeted therapy in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. The patient is a 62-year-old woman with strongly ER/PR-positive, HER2-negative invasive lobular carcinoma who was initially treated with curative intent but later develops metastatic disease with diffuse bone involvement. She has a history of prior aromatase inhibitor intolerance and multiple comorbidities including prediabetes, anorexia, and opioid-related gastrointestinal symptoms. The faculty emphasize proactive toxicity management, patient education, and frequent monitoring to improve adherence, underscoring how effective communication regarding potential side effects and dose reductions ensures long-term treatment success. The discussion highlights prophylactic strategies for key adverse events such as hyperglycemia, rash, diarrhea, and neutropenia, as well as the importance of multidisciplinary support.
Case 1: Treatment Considerations at Disease Progression on CDKi
This is Part 1 of Shared Decisions, Better Outcome: Collaboration in Managing Targeted Therapy for HR-Positive/HER2-Negative Breast Cancer, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this roundtable. In this video, Erika Hamilton, MD, Melissa Rikal, MSN, FNP-BC, AOCNP®, and Heather Moore, CPP, PharmD, discuss team-based management of hormone receptor–positive metastatic breast cancer. The patient is a 44-year-old woman with de novo ER/PR-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer involving the liver, lymph nodes, and bone, who received ovarian suppression and ultimately a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy prior to presenting with disease progression after 5 years of endocrine therapy plus a CDK4/6 inhibitor. The faculty highlight the importance of mutational testing to identify ESR1 mutations for selecting targeted therapies and explore oral options like elacestrant, imlunestrant, and vepdegestrant, emphasizing patient education for managing side effects. The panel also reviews team-based strategies for patient monitoring, counseling on tolerability, and considerations such as drug interactions and lipid monitoring when initiating therapy.
FDA Approves Antibody-Drug Conjugate for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
On May 22, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved datopotamab deruxtecan-dlnk (Datroway), an antibody-drug conjugate targeting trophoblast cell surface antigen 2 (TROP2), for adult patients with unresectable or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who are not candidates for ...
Losing Weight, Gaining Quality of Life in Early-Stage Breast Cancer
A telephone-based weight loss intervention improved physical function and other patient-reported outcomes among women with early-stage breast cancer and overweight or obesity, according to findings from the health outcomes (HO)-1 substudy of the phase III Breast Cancer WEight Loss (BWEL) trial...
Recurrence With Concurrent or Sequential Radiation Dose Escalation to the Surgical Cavity in High-Risk Early Breast Cancer
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Vicini et al, the phase III NRG/RTOG 1005 trial has shown noninferior risk for ipsilateral breast recurrence (IBR) with concurrent vs sequential radiation dose escalation to the surgical cavity in conservative treatment of high-risk early breast...
Study Finds Stage IV Breast Cancer Increasing in Incidence and Proportion Over the Past Decade
A new study shows that cases of stage IV breast cancer are increasing both in incidence and as a proportion of all breast cancer diagnoses. According to the findings, published by Avila et al in JAMA Network Open, the incidence rate of stage IV breast cancer has increased significantly from 9.5...
FDA Approves Fam-Trastuzumab Deruxtecan-nxki Indications in HER2-Positive Early Breast Cancer
On May 15, 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) (Enhertu) for two separate indications for the treatment of adult patients with HER2-positive early-stage breast cancer. The first indication is for the neoadjuvant treatment of adult...
Study Examines Genetic Testing to Inform Follow-up Care for Cancer Survivors
Hundreds of thousands of people diagnosed with cancer are still alive today, but were never genetically tested, either because testing was not available or was not routinely offered at the time of their diagnosis. These patients are just as likely as those diagnosed today to carry a germline...
Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Blood-Based Biomarkers Identified
Researchers have identified blood-based biomarkers in tumors, peripheral blood cells, and plasma that may help to differentiate between inflammatory breast cancer and non–inflammatory breast cancer, according to findings published in Science Advances. “These findings provide new insights into...
Meta-Analysis Explores Impact of Ovarian Function Suppression on Breast Cancer Recurrence and Survival
In a patient-level meta-analysis reported in The Lancet, the Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group found that ovarian function suppression (OFS) with ablation or drugs was associated with reduced 15-year risk of recurrence or death irrespective of chemotherapy or tamoxifen use in...
De-escalation, Recovery, and Robotic Surgery in Breast Cancer Care
At the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) 27th Annual Meeting, investigators presented new findings on breast cancer surgery, postoperative recovery, and radiation treatment planning. Among the many sessions, several studies were presented during a media briefing earlier this month and are ...
‘Promising’ Signal Only: ctDNA in Early Breast Cancer Not Yet Ready for Clinical Use
Despite compelling prognostic associations across multiple retrospective data sets, no interventional trial has demonstrated that acting on circulating tumor DNA testing results in early breast cancer improves patient outcomes. Clinicians should therefore proceed with caution until such evidence...
Breast Density Reduction: Endoxifen vs Tamoxifen
Low doses of the investigational agent endoxifen reduced breast density to the same extent as the standard treatment tamoxifen, with fewer adverse events, according to results from the KARISMA study, a proof-of-principle, dose-determining, double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. These ...
COA and Flatiron Health Study Finds Patients May Experience Longer Survival in Community Oncology Settings
Patients diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer and non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) had longer survival compared to national benchmarks when treated in independent community oncology practices, according to a new study commissioned by the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) and conducted by...
FDA Approves Vepdegestrant for ER-Positive, HER2-Negative, ESR1-Mutated Advanced Breast Cancer
On May 1, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved vepdegestrant (Veppanu), a heterobifunctional protein degrader, for the treatment of adult patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative, ESR1-mutated advanced or metastatic breast cancer, as detected by an FDA-authorized ...
Neoadjuvant Durvalumab and Chemotherapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Long-Term Follow-Up of GeparNuevo Trial
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Loibl et al, long-term analysis of the German phase II GeparNuevo trial showed continued benefit in outcomes with neoadjuvant durvalumab vs placebo followed by dose-dense epirubicin/cyclophosphamide in patients with triple-negative breast cancer....
ACP Issues Controversial New Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines
New guidance from the American College of Physicians (ACP) says all average-risk females between ages 50 to 74 should receive biennial screening mammography for breast cancer, and that females between the ages of 40 and 49 should discuss with their doctor their risk for breast cancer and the...
Breast Cancer: Clonal Hematopoiesis and Risk of Trastuzumab-Related Cardiotoxicity
In a cohort study reported in JAMA Oncology, Park et al found that clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) was associated with an increased risk of trastuzumab-related cardiotoxicity in patients with breast cancer. Study Details The analysis involved data from the UK Biobank...
What Is the Optimal Setting for T-DXd in Early Breast Cancer? Experts Debate
Trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) has claimed a large share of the HER2-positive breast cancer landscape, even finding room among tumors previously thought to be HER2-negative. The DESTINY series of trials are international studies investigating T-DXd as a potential treatment option for eligible...
Is Standard of Care Optimal for the Individual Patient?
I am writing this from the hospital waiting room. My father is undergoing an 11-hour surgery to remove his parotid gland and a squamous cell carcinoma that has metastasized from his cheek and invaded his facial nerve. Several weeks ago, when the PA’s fingers moved over the mass visibly protruding...
POSITIVE Trial Update: Oncologic Outcomes Maintained After Pausing Endocrine Therapy for Pregnancy
For years, the question of pregnancy after, or during treatment for, hormone receptor–positive breast cancer placed patients and their oncologists in an uncomfortable position. Endocrine therapy, prescribed for 5 years and increasingly for 10 years or longer in high-risk patients, is both a...
Electroacupuncture May Relieve Cognitive, Psychological Symptoms in Breast Cancer Survivors in Pilot Study
Electroacupuncture may alleviate some persistent neuropsychiatric symptoms experienced by breast cancer survivors, including psychological distress and cognitive impairment, according to the results of a randomized, double-blinded pilot trial published in the Journal of the National Cancer...
How Cannabis Use May Be Accelerating Breast and Testicular Cancer Rates in AYAs
As the data continue to show, the incidence of breast, testis, and other cancers are on the rise in adolescent and young adults (AYAs) between the ages of 15 and 39, with increases of 30% over the last 4 decades.1 And while potential explanations for this rapid increase have included obesity,...
