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Personalizing therapy for metastatic breast cancer
Patrick G Morris1, Clifford A Hudis
1Breast Cancer Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA. morrisp1@mskcc.org
Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy
|September 19, 2009
Summary
New metastatic breast cancer treatments target tumor biology. Advances include HER2-targeted therapies and bevacizumab for HER2-normal cancers, plus poly-ADP-ribose polymerase inhibitors for DNA repair.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Medical Research
Background:
- Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) treatment is evolving with personalized approaches.
- HER2-overexpressing tumors and HER2-normal tumors require distinct therapeutic strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review key advancements in systemic therapy for metastatic breast cancer.
- To highlight novel agents and treatment combinations presented at ASCO 2009.
Main Methods:
- Review of presentations and data from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2009 annual meeting.
- Focus on systemic therapies for metastatic breast cancer.
Main Results:
- For HER2-overexpressing MBC progressing on trastuzumab/lapatinib, agents like pertuzumab and trastuzumab-MCC-DM1 show activity with trastuzumab.
- Bevacizumab added to first-line chemotherapy improves progression-free survival in HER2-normal MBC.
- Poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors are investigated for DNA repair defects or with chemotherapy.
Conclusions:
- Tailoring treatment to individual tumor biology, including HER2 status, is crucial for MBC.
- Emerging therapies offer new options for both HER2-positive and HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer.
- Targeting DNA repair mechanisms represents a promising avenue for MBC treatment.
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