Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 30, 2026
Live Imaging of Drug Responses in the Tumor Microenvironment in Mouse Models of Breast Cancer
Published on: March 24, 2013
The pipeline of new anticancer agents for breast cancer treatment in 2003
1Jules Bordet Institute, Chemotherapy Unit, Boulevard de Waterloo 125, 1000 Brussels, Belgium. ahmad.awada@bordet.be
Abstract:
In recent years, strategy in cancer therapy in general, and breast cancer in particular, has been the use of maximum tolerated doses of toxic non-specific agents as well as the investigation of a range of new agents that specifically target tumor-related molecules, in a variety of biological pathways. The trial of chemotherapy (CT) versus chemotherapy+trastuzumab (Herceptin) in HER-2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer (MBC) was one of the first to use a biological agent in combination with chemotherapy with success and, together with some trials of taxanes in anthracycline-resistance patients one of the few to demonstrate an overall survival (OS) advantage in MBC. Five main molecular pathways are of particular interest in terms of new drug development in breast cancer: the estrogen receptor (ER) pathway, the tyrosine kinase signal transduction pathway, the cell cycle regulation pathway, the apoptosis pathway and the angiogenesis pathway. This review will focus on new agents, cytotoxic, hormonal and molecular-targeted, which are in advanced clinical stages of development for the treatment of MBC.
Insights
New breast cancer therapies combine chemotherapy with targeted agents like trastuzumab, showing improved survival. Research focuses on molecular pathways for advanced metastatic breast cancer (MBC) drug development.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pharmacology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Cancer therapy increasingly uses targeted agents alongside traditional chemotherapy.
- Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) treatment strategies are evolving with new drug development.
- HER-2-overexpressing MBC trials demonstrated survival benefits with combined chemotherapy and biological agents.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review novel cytotoxic, hormonal, and molecular-targeted agents for advanced metastatic breast cancer (MBC).
- To highlight agents in late-stage clinical development for MBC treatment.
- To discuss key molecular pathways influencing breast cancer drug discovery.
Main Methods:
- Review of clinical trial data for novel breast cancer therapeutics.
- Analysis of agents targeting key molecular pathways in breast cancer.
- Focus on drugs in advanced clinical development stages.
Main Results:
- Combination therapy, such as chemotherapy plus trastuzumab, shows efficacy in HER-2-overexpressing MBC.
- Certain agents demonstrate an overall survival (OS) advantage in metastatic breast cancer (MBC).
- Five key molecular pathways are central to new breast cancer drug development.
Conclusions:
- Targeted therapies and chemotherapy combinations represent a significant advance in MBC treatment.
- Ongoing research into molecular pathways promises more effective MBC therapies.
- Several new agents are nearing availability for advanced metastatic breast cancer care.
Related Concept Videos
02:57Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against specific...
02:18Cancer
02:50Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...