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On February 17, positive results were announced from the phase III OlympiAD trial comparing olaparib (Lynparza) tablets to physician’s choice of a standard-of-care chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer harboring germline BRCA1 or BRCA2...
The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) offers state-of-the-art information on all aspects of breast cancer biology, diagnosis, and treatment, drawing an international audience of more than 7,500 physicians, researchers, and other health-care professionals from over 90 countries. Through...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Oncology, Daly et al found that recommended use of adjuvant endocrine therapy for breast cancer improved in the United States between 2004 and 2013 but remains suboptimal. The study included data on 981,729 women with stage I to III breast cancer...
An interim analysis of the SCALP trial, reported in JAMA by Nangia et al, showed that use of a scalp-cooling device significantly reduced hair loss in women receiving chemotherapy for stage I or II breast cancer compared with no scalp cooling. The study was stopped early on the basis of efficacy....
In a population-based study reported in a research letter in JAMA, Kurian et al found that genetic testing and genetic counseling are suboptimal among women with newly diagnosed breast cancer. Study Details The study involved 2,451 women aged 20 through 79 years diagnosed with stage 0 to II...
Patients with breast cancer with dense breast tissue have almost a twofold increased risk of developing disease in the contralateral breast, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The study, published by Brewster et al in the journal Cancer, is among the...
In the phase III OPTIMIZE-2 trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Hortobagyi et al found that an every-12-week schedule of zoledronic acid was noninferior to an every-4-week schedule in terms of skeletal-related event rate in women with bone metastases from breast cancer who were currently receiving...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Symmans et al found that residual cancer burden (RCB) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy was significantly prognostic for long-term outcome across breast cancer subtypes. Study Details The study included 5 patient cohorts from The University of ...
In the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium (TBCRC) 005 prospective biomarker study, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Kala Visvanathan, MBBS, MHS, of Johns Hopkins University, and colleagues, a cumulative methylation index was found to be predictive of progression-free...
Nearly half of women treated for early-stage breast cancer reported at least one side effect from their treatment that was severe or very severe, according to a new study published by Friese et al in Cancer. Although it might be expected for women undergoing chemotherapy, researchers found...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Polgár et al, 5-year late side effects and cosmetic results were similar with accelerated partial-breast irradiation (APBI) with interstitial brachytherapy vs whole-breast irradiation (WBI) after breast-conserving surgery for low-risk invasive and in...
Amber Orman, MD, of the Department of Radiation Oncology, Breast Section, at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, who was not involved in this study, said: “This study provides guidance when deciding how best to integrate postmastectomy reconstruction and radiation therapy. This is an area...
Postmastectomy radiation is becoming more commonly used to treat breast cancer, and at the same time, there is an increasing trend among women to have breast reconstruction. Until now, oncologists have had little evidence on what the best reconstruction options are in women who require radiation...
Moderator of the press conference on this study, Virginia Kaklamani, MD, of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, agreed that an improvement in response is important. “If you are a patient with symptoms, such as a cough from lung metastases, and I give you a combination...
A randomized phase II study in women with metastatic breast cancer who have mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 evaluated the addition of the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor veliparib to combination chemotherapy. The trial did not meet its primary endpoint.1 Hyo Sook Han, MD, of Moffitt...
A scalp-cooling device was found safe and effective in preventing chemotherapy-induced hair loss in women undergoing adjuvant treatment for breast cancer in an interim analysis of the first prospective, randomized trial of a modern scalp-cooling system. The study was presented at the 2016 San...
Melinda L. Telli, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, commented on this topic for The ASCO Post. She said the results of the two studies reinforce what has been emerging about the prognostic impact of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. “We have known...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Smith et al, the final results of the phase III FACE trial showed no difference in disease-free or overall survival for adjuvant letrozole vs anastrozole in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive node-positive early breast...
Studies presented at the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium added to growing evidence that tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes are important prognostic factors in breast cancer. One investigation evaluated their impact in advanced HER2-positive breast cancer, finding a linear relationship between...
Shoshana M. Rosenberg, ScD, MPH, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, talks about ways to help young women move from active treatment to survivorship, based on findings from focus groups in which patients discussed their unexpected physical and psychological experiences after surgery (Abstract 180).
Lauren P. Wallner, PhD, MPH, of the University of Michigan, discusses her findings on the type of providers women prefer when it comes to handling survivorship care after breast cancer treatment and the need to clarify and discuss provider roles with patients (Abstract 99).
Sophia Kustas Smith, PhD, MSW, of Duke University, discusses study findings on an online, symptom self-management curriculum, known as www.reimagine.me, employed for breast cancer survivors with chronic pain (Abstract 182).
Electra D. Paskett, PhD, of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses an intervention that increased knowledge of lymphedema in breast cancer, and the personal story that drove her research (Abstract 104).
Shawna V. Hudson, PhD, of Rutgers University, discusses a survivorship program designed to improve the quality of life for Hispanic and Latino breast cancer survivors (Abstract 183).
Breast-conserving therapy (breast-conserving surgery combined with radiation therapy) may be superior to mastectomy in certain patients with breast cancer, according to results from the largest study on this topic to date, presented at the 2017 European Cancer Congress (Abstract 4LBA). Although...
Women over 50 who have been treated for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) are more likely to be alive 10 years later than women in the general population, according to new research presented by Elshof et al at the 2017 European Cancer Congress (ECCO) (Abstract 173). DCIS differs from breast cancer...
In a Dutch study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, van den Bogaard et al found that a model including the volume of the left ventricle receiving 5 Gy (LV-V5) might provide improved prediction of acute cardiac events in patients with breast cancer receiving radiotherapy. Prior findings...
“One of the most challenging oncologic situations that I face as a clinician is the diagnosis of breast cancer in a young pregnant patient,” Jacqueline Jeruss, MD, PhD, Director of the Breast Care Center at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, told the more than 250...
Sara Hurvitz, MD, Director of the Breast Oncology Program at the University of California, Los Angeles, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, commented that in the United States, a bone mineral density test can help identify candidates for bone-modifying agents. “We look at women who are going on...
Addition of the oral bisphosphonate ibandronate to endocrine therapy did not significantly improve disease-free survival in patients with early breast cancer, according to the first results from the Dutch TEAM IIb trial presented at the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.1 The results were...
At the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, a group of breast cancer experts made a case for using the 21-gene Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score Assay in node-positive patients, despite ASCO’s latest recommendations to restrict it to node-negative estrogen receptor–positive patients. The...
Each year, The ASCO Post asks Jame Abraham, MD, Director of the Breast Oncology Program at Taussig Cancer Institute and Co-Director of the Cleveland Clinic Comprehensive Breast Cancer Program, to give his picks for the most important research presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium....
Presentation of the PERTAIN study data by lead author Grazia Arpino, MD, PhD, was met with high interest at the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Steven Vogl, MD, of the Bronx, New York, commented, “This is a very complicated study for me, but it seems that at least half your patients got...
In the phase II PERTAIN study of locally advanced or metastatic hormone receptor–positive, HER2-positive breast cancer patients, the addition of pertuzumab (Perjeta) to a regimen of trastuzumab (Herceptin) and an aromatase inhibitor in the first-line setting significantly improved progression-free ...
Howard A. “Skip” Burris, MD, President of Clinical Operations and Chief Medical Officer at Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Nashville, commented on the poster presentation for The ASCO Post. He said the results “fit the whole paradigm” that is desired for triple-negative breast cancer, which is to ...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Kerlikowske et al identified risk factors for estrogen receptor–positive and –negative breast cancer using data from the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium. The analysis included 1,279,443 women, aged 35 to 74...
The antibody-drug conjugate sacituzumab govitecan (IMMU-132) produced high objective response rates, many of them quite durable, in a multicenter study of heavily pretreated patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, presented at the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.1 Trop-2 is ...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Parada et al found that higher intake of grilled/barbecued and smoked meat may be associated with poorer overall survival in breast cancer survivors. Grilled/barbecued and smoked meat, a source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon...
Phase I clinical trial data published by Moulder-Thompson et al in Clinical Cancer Research reported that the investigational anticancer agent tucatinib (formerly ONT-380) showed 'notable activity' in the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer with . The 50 women treated had disease...
In an analysis from the Canadian Cancer Trials Group MAP.3 chemoprevention trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Meggetto et al found that worsening of overall menopause-specific quality of life was associated with early discontinuation of study treatment in high-risk postmenopausal...
Out-of-pocket expenditures are thought to be a significant barrier to receiving cancer preventive services, especially for individuals of lower socioeconomic status. A new study published by Cooper et al in Cancer looked at how the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which eliminated such out-of-pocket...
A new study published in JAMA reported that patients with bone metastases due to breast cancer, prostate cancer, or multiple myeloma who used zoledronic acid every 12 weeks compared with every 4 weeks did not have in an increased risk of skeletal events over 2 years. In this study, Andrew L....
In an analysis in the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG) Z1031 Trial/Alliance reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ellis et al found that switching to chemotherapy in patients with elevated Ki67 levels after 2 to 4 weeks of neoadjuvant aromatase inhibitor therapy resulted ...
New research from the University of Wisconsin (UW) Carbone Cancer Center has clarified the mechanisms involved in a common growth pathway implicated in many solid tumor types and could lead to better outcomes for patients with head and neck, lung, and triple-negative breast cancer,...
In a new study published by Jagsi et al in JAMA Surgery, nearly half of patients with early-stage breast cancer considered having double mastectomy, and one in six received it—including many who were at low risk of developing a second breast cancer. Many patients who chose double...
Venous thromboembolism is a serious—and sometimes fatal—complication of cancer and chemotherapy treatment. Since breast cancer is one of the most common cancers, it accounts for a large number of cancer-related cases of venous thromboembolism. Routine thromboprophylaxis, however, is not recommended ...
A study finding that there is no clear cutoff age to stop breast cancer screening has received national coverage in newspapers and CNN as well as in health and medical publications. “I am glad this is catching fire, because it really needs to be out there,” Cindy S. Lee, MD, the study’s lead...
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...
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...
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...