Breast Cancer

The FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee has unanimously voted to recommend approval of the trastuzumab biosimilar MYL-1401O for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer.

The FDA has approved neratinib (Nerlynx) for use as extended adjuvant treatment in adult patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer.

The use of bisphosphonates was not associated with a decrease in the incidence of breast cancer in postmenopausal women, contrary to hypothesis.

The 70-gene test could aid clinicians and patients in determining the optimal treatment course for breast cancer patients with a very low risk of death from the disease.

A 46-year-old woman had a routine screening mammogram that showed new calcifications in the posterior left breast. A diagnostic mammogram showed several small punctate calcifications, and a 6-month interval follow-up was recommended.

T-DM1 administered for 12 weeks with or without endocrine therapy yields good rates of pathologic complete response in women with HER2-positive/hormone receptor–positive breast cancer, according to a new randomized trial.

A 70-gene expression score can identify women with indolent breast cancer at “ultralow” risk, according to a new study. Women with such a score have extremely low risk of disease-specific mortality over 20 years without systemic therapy.

A recent study shows that many women with early-stage breast cancer are still undergoing unnecessary chest CT, despite NCCN recommendations.

A new study that used prospective data provides estimates of cancer risk based on BRCA1/2 mutation status and shows the potential role of family history and the location of the mutation in assessing risk.

A new clinical trial is recruiting to determine whether a breath testing device can aid in the diagnosis of breast cancer.

Replacing a cyclophosphamide-based regimen with oral capecitabine does not sacrifice efficacy in adjuvant therapy for early breast cancer, and improves quality of life, according to a new study.

In this interview we discuss some of the novel therapeutics in development for HER2-amplified breast cancer.

A biosimilar to trastuzumab known as CT-P6 showed equivalent efficacy and similar toxicity to the original agent in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.

Limiting Medicaid enrollment has the potential for negative health impacts, in particular among low-income women with a diagnosis of breast cancer, according to a new study.

Results from a nationwide clinical trial, which were presented at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting, indicate that adding pembrolizumab to standard therapy before surgery offers the potential for improving outcomes in this patient population.

The use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy increases eligibility for breast-conserving therapy in triple-negative breast cancer patients, yet many still opt for mastectomy.

Patients with HER2-negative breast cancer with residual invasive disease following neoadjuvant chemotherapy benefit from adjuvant treatment with capecitabine.

The use of a four-gene signature identified a series of subgroups of triple-negative breast cancer, including one subtype that was responsive to platinum-based chemotherapy in the metastatic setting.

For premenopausal breast cancer patients, 24 weeks of neoadjuvant chemotherapy may yield a better clinical response than endocrine therapy.

Dual HER2 blockade was superior to single blockade in postmenopausal women with HER2-positive, HR-positive metastatic breast cancer.

The addition of pertuzumab to trastuzumab and chemotherapy improved invasive disease–free survival in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer.

The investigational third-generation nonsteroidal oral selective estrogen receptor degrader RAD1901 was associated with a 23% objective response rate among 40 heavily pretreated women with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer.

Adding ipatasertib to first-line paclitaxel modestly improved progression-free survival in women with triple-negative breast cancer.

The PARP inhibitor olaparib increases progression-free survival and improves quality of life in BRCA-mutated HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer patients.

Abemaciclib plus fulvestrant was linked with improved response and PFS in patients with endocrine-resistant, HR-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer.

Palbociclib alone and in combination with endocrine therapy offers clinical benefit among women with HR-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer.

Breast cancer survivors, including those with estrogen receptor–positive tumors, can safely become pregnant, according to a new study.

Atezolizumab was approved for treating patients with metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer who experienced disease progression during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy. Now, it turns out this agent may have a role in combating breast cancer.

Final results from two large phase III trials confirm that the drug-antibody conjugate trastuzumab emtansine improves overall survival over other treatment options in patients with previously treated HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Final 10-year follow-up of a large phase III trial showed that adding gemcitabine to anthracycline and taxane-based adjuvant chemotherapy increases toxicity and does not improve disease-free survival in early breast cancer patients.