Breast Cancer

The HER2-positive breast cancer treatment paradigm is constantly changing, explained Debu Tripathy, MD, who cited that in less than 1 year, there have been 2 exciting drug approvals, which are tucatinib (Tukysa) and fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (Enhertu).

Patients with breast cancer may be apprehensive to come into the clinic for treatment amidst the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, others may prefer seeing their treatment team in person.

One of the most important tasks that oncology nurses face is ensuring that patients are taking their medications consistently and correctly, and that adverse events (AEs) are properly managed—specifically in those patients with breast cancer, according to Patricia Jakel, RN, MN, AOCN.

Marking the first US applications for pembrolizumab in breast cancer, the applications are based on data from the KEYNOTE-355 and KEYNOTE-522 trials, respectively.

Heather Han, MD, discusses ongoing clinical trials within the field of HER2-positive breast cancer and the future of personalized treatment for this patient population.

Efbemalenograstim alpha (F-627) has demonstrated strong and lasting benefit when used as a treatment for chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in patients with breast cancer, meeting the primary and secondary end points of a phase 3 study.

Patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer who later develop central nervous system (CNS) metastases comprise a large population of all patients with breast cancer, and there continue to be an unmet need for this subgroup, explained Brian Czerniecki, MD, PhD.

The FDA approved subcutaneous Phesgo – a combination of pertuzumab (Perjeta), trastuzumab (Herceptin), and hyaluronidase–zzxf – for the treatment of patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, as well as early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer, as selected by an FDA-approved companion diagnostic test.

Patients with breast cancer who harbor multiple PIK3A-mutant tumors achieved a higher clinical benefit from PI3Kα inhibition compared with single mutant tumors according to response analysis data from the SANDPIPER trial.

Your patient had a mastectomy and chemotherapy and is recovering on the post-op surgical oncology unit. She has 1 or 2 JPs (Jackson Pratt’s) which are drained on a prn basis and a surgical bra. The physical part of her recovery is in progress, but what about body image issues?

Oncology nurses play a crucial role in educating the public about cancer risk and prevention.

Health care providers play a significant role in the patient’s perception of the disease. Knowledge, attitude, and office atmosphere contribute to better psychological outcomes.

The addition of immunotherapy to the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) armamentarium has led to a paradigm shift and sparked an abundance of research with immuno-oncology (IO) drugs in new combinations and settings, explained Hope S. Rugo, MD.

The recent FDA approval of sacituzumab govitecan for certain patients with triple-negative breast cancer was an exciting one. Here’s what oncology nurses need to know.

Over the last few weeks, the FDA was busy reviewing and approving new cancer treatments.

There is far less patient education for oral agents, such as CDK4/6 inhibitors for breast cancer, as there is for chemotherapy. This is a major issue, explained Patricia Jakel, MN, RN, AOCN, advanced practice nurse at UCLA's solid tumor program and co-editor in chief of Oncology Nursing News.

Treatment with talazoparib (Talzenna) did not demonstrate a statistically significant overall survival (OS) benefit in patients with BRCA1/2-mutated metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer, according to updated findings from the phase 3 EMBRACA trial (NCT01945775).1 However, lead author Jennifer Litton, MD, said that there is still reason to believe treatment with the PARP inhibitor can improve OS.

The FDA has granted an accelerated approval to sacituzumab govitecan-hziy for the treatment of adult patients with pretreated metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.

The FDA has approved tucatinib (Tukysa) for use in combination with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and capecitabine (Xeloda) for the treatment of patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, including patients with brain metastases, following at least 1 prior therapy.

Leading oncology and breast cancer organizations came together to create treatment recommendations for patients with breast cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

An increased proportion of Indigenous American (IA) genetic ancestry may be linked with a higher incidence of HER2-positive breast cancer, according to findings from a study published in Cancer Research.

Here are the top 5 Oncology Nursing News® stories for March 2020.

There are multiple factors in making "cold" breast cancer tumors "hot," meaning that they respond to chemotherapy, explained Hope S. Rugo, MD, FASCO, director of Breast Oncology and Clinical Trials Education at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Breast implant-associated anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is a relatively newly discovered illness, which leaves many questions for both patients and providers.

Oncology nurses made it a point to get to know Barbara Bigelow, a breast cancer survivor, while she was getting treatment. To her, that made a big difference.

The landscape of metastatic hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer continues to evolve, highlighting the necessity of genetic and genomic testing, explained Elisa Krill-Jackson, MD.

Some patients with breast cancer might be apprehensive to undergo genetic testing, but it is crucial both for them and their family members. Lauren Carcas, MD, medical oncologist at the Miami Cancer Institute, discusses some main points nurses can make to these patients to encourage them to get tested.

Some metastatic breast cancer data is not available. And some patients choose not to know it.

Enhanced navigation led some high-risk patients to an earlier breast cancer diagnosis, according to recent research.