Breast Cancer

Despite seeming to elicit more pathological complete responses (pCRs) in patients with hormone receptor–positive (HR+), HER2-negative triple-negative breast cancer (BC) receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy, diet and exercise did not affect relative dose intensity.

While regional variations were identified in rates of breast reconstruction, complications, and cost for patients with breast cancer, these differences did not seem to be associated with any implicit bias.

New research suggests conventional fractionated and hypofractionated proton postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) yield similar tolerability and complication rates for patients following mastectomy.

Coverage from the July 25, 2023, session of the Institute for Value-Based Medicine®, presented by The American Journal of Managed Care® in partnership with Emory's Winship Cancer Institute.

An expert reviews the role of the patient advocate in ensuring that health disparities in metastatic breast cancer are overcome.

An expert describes the patient advocate’s role in shared decision-making with a patient for novel therapeutic options.

An expert reviews best practices for assisting and guiding patients in their journey when navigating complex treatment decisions and options.

Sonya Negley, IOM, CSMA, describes the patient advocate’s role in helping patients with metastatic breast cancer discover and enroll in clinical trials.

Sonya Negley, IOM, CSMA, discusses ways to help patients with metastatic breast cancer feel empowered during their journey.

Sonya Negley, IOM, CSMA, reviews how patient advocates can help patients newly diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.

The task force was motivated by a gap between in breast cancer deaths between Black and White women.

Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president at Texas Oncology, explains the small potential risk of breast cancer associated with hormonal birth control.

In breast cancer, approval for elacestrant and a new indication for sacituzumab govitecan; approval for pirtobrutinib for mantle cell lymphoma.

Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president at Texas Oncology, discusses her recent testimony to the US Senate on a case in which prior authorization caused a 6-week wait for a consult.

Results for this study, involving use of this CDK4/6 inhibitor with endocrine therapy, will be presented at an upcoming scientific meeting and submitted to regulators.

The FDA approved an expanded indication for abemaciclib (Verzenio) in combination with endocrine therapy for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients with hormone receptor (HR)–positive, HER2-negative, node-positive, early breast cancer that is at a high risk of recurrence.

The FDA has approved elacestrant (Orserdu) for the treatment of postmenopausal women or adult men with estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative, ESR1-mutated advanced or metastatic breast cancer with disease progression following at least 1 line of endocrine therapy.

The approval came exactly 2 months after results from the landmark DESTINY-Breast04 trial showed that the antibody drug conjugate reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 50% compared with chemotherapy for HER2-low patients with both hormone receptor (HR)–positive and HR-negative disease.

Understanding that patients who are HER2-low are different from patients who are HER2-positive and -negative means having the right way to evaluate and identify these patients, explained Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president of Texas Oncology.

Hope S. Rugo, MD, FASCO, is professor of medicine and the director of the Breast Oncology and Clinical Trials Education program at the University of California San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. She discusses her experience with palbociclib and letrozole in advanced breast cancer.

Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president of Texas Oncology, discusses how community oncology practices have heightened their outreach efforts to entice patients back in for cancer screenings and the importance of thinking outside the box to overcome staffing shortages in the oncology space.

Officials from Novartis emphasized that the ribociclib-fulvestrant combination is the only one in the CDK4/6 inhibitor class to demonstrate an overall survival benefit when used in a first-line setting among postmenopausal women.

This approval of trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu) follows the March release of data from the DESTINY-Breast03 trial on the anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody, also a HER2-directed antibody-drug conjugate, which indicated superior outcomes vs trastuzumab emtansine.

The intent of metastatic disease treatment is palliative, not curative, so we try to prolong life and provide quality of life as much as we can, said Hatem Soliman, MD, medical director of the Clinical Trials Office, Moffitt Cancer Center.

To achieve health equity, experts from CVS Health discuss why we must invest in programs that improve access to health care for historically marginalized communities, address social determinants, boost health education, increase representation in all levels of health care delivery, widen access to clinical trial research, and more.

The financial toxicity of newer metastatic breast cancer (MBC) treatments is a significant concern and requires stakeholders to work together to find the best value- and evidence-based treatments for patients, said Hatem Soliman, MD, medical director, Clinical Trials Office, Moffitt Cancer Center.

Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president of Texas Oncology, addresses how the pandemic may have influenced cancer screening and diagnosis rates.

This investigation focused on use of additional services and incidence of new diagnoses among women who underwent a breast cancer screening MRI—having a low or average risk of the cancer—compared with a matched cohort who underwent mammography.