Breast Cancer

Breast cancer, the most common cancer diagnosed in women in the United States, is the second leading cause of cancer death among women after lung cancer. To track trends in disease incidence, mortality, and survival the American Cancer Society (ACS) analyzes data every 2 years.

Cyclin D–dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitors have proven to be effective treatment in patients with hormone receptor-positive HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. But, much like many cancer therapies, there are challenges when it comes to toxicity.

What can be done to improve quality of life for people with metastatic breast cancer (MBC), which tends to lag in comparison to the experience of those with earlier-stage disease?

Laura J. van’t Veer, PhD, discussed determining more accurate methods of treatment for patients with early- and late-state breast cancer based on advances in genetic testing, specifically the 70-gene prognostic signature.

Genes and gender may play a role in who is more likely to experience chemotherapy-related fatigue, according to a recent study.

The FDA granted Olaparib (Lynparza) a priority review for the treatment of certain patients with breast cancer.

Improved treatment and early detection mean fewer women in the United States are dying from breast cancer, according to a study released by the American Cancer Society (ACS) that examined trends in the disease.

The FDA approved abemaciclib (Verzenio) for use in combination with fulvestrant in women with HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer with disease progression following endocrine therapy. The CDK4/6 inhibitor has also been approved as a monotherapy for patients with HR+/HER2- breast cancer with metastatic disease who have previously received endocrine therapy and chemotherapy.

Can a class of drugs commonly prescribed to help lower cholesterol levels protect against breast cancer? A study recently presented at the European Society of Cardiology conference in Barcelona, Spain, offers interesting results.

Fertility preservation might be a bit more difficult for women with breast cancer who test positive for the BRCA gene mutation.

The authors noted that although some studies have shown improvement in breast cancer outcomes from extending treatment with AIs beyond the initial 5 years after diagnosis, there is not much research on the toxicity profile of extended use.

Francisco J. Esteva, M.D., Ph.D. discussed genomic testing at the 16th Annual International Congress on the Future of Breast Cancer® (East).

The FDA has approved fulvestrant (Faslodex) for use in hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative locally-advanced or metastatic breast cancer in postmenopausal women not previously treated with endocrine therapy.

Dawn Frambes, PhD, RN, discusses the importance of involving the caregivers (and other friends and family) in the delivery of treatments for symptom management.

A recent study has found that there may be no risk of increasing skin irritation by using antiperspirants for patients with breast cancer undergoing radiation.

Checkpoint inhibitors against PD-1 and PD-L1 have shown promise, both as monotherapies and in combination with chemotherapy for patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

A recent study found that women with breast cancer often have a network of people that they consult to help them make treatment decisions.

Breast cancer expert Joyce O'Shaughnessy, MD, discusses the current treatments for metastatic triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) as well as potential options in the future.

The FDA has approved neratinib (Nerlync) for the extended adjuvant treatment of patients with early stage, HER2-positive breast cancer following postoperative trastuzumab.

Moving Forward Together 3 is a study evaluating how to get breast cancer survivors exercising, by using other breast cancer survivors as coaches.

According to new research, pregnancy does not increase the risk of recurrence for women who have had early breast cancer.

Clinicals can use mutiple-gene panels to identify mutations to test for breast cancer and ovarian cancer risk.

Jennifer Ligibel, MD, discusses Breast Cancer Weight Loss Study and how a weight loss intervention may help patients with breast cancer.

Researchers found that the rate of suicide in patients with lung cancer is much higher than those with other types of cancer.

A recent study has shown that the cancer risks for women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations depend on the extent of the woman’s family history of cancer and the position of the specific fault within the gene.

Communication is key when it comes to discussing genetic information and hereditary cancers with family members.

Adjuvant pertuzumab may help some early breast cancer patients.

The PARP inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza) was shown to reduce the risk of disease progression by 42% compared to standard chemotherapy in patients with BRCA-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer.

A recent study presented at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting found that breast cancer survivors who became pregnant had no greater risk of recurrence or death than women who underwent breast cancer treatment but did not become pregnant.

As presented at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting, adding abemaciclib to fulvestrant can reduce the risk of disease progression or death by 45% compared to fulvestrant alone in pretreated patients with HR+/HER2-negative breast cancer.