A review of current and emerging therapies in breast cancer: implications for older adults

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. As global populations age, the number of older adults with breast cancer is expected to increase significantly. Recently, progress has been made across all subtypes of breast cancer with the development of new targeted therapeutics and the success of novel combinations. However, treating older adults remains challenging due to the limited representation of this population in clinical trials, resulting in a lack of robust data on treatment efficacy and tolerability.

We reviewed FDA-approved therapies for breast cancer since 2020. We analyzed pivotal clinical trials leading to registration, as well as subanalyses of older populations and real-world studies for each approved therapy, with a focus on their impact in older adults.

Breast cancer is a quickly changing field with many new therapeutics and novel combinations on the horizon. With each new approval, it is critical to assess expected side effects and approach each patient with an individualized plan. Many clinical trials enroll a small number of older adults, making it difficult to extrapolate data to geriatric populations. Future trials should incorporate broader eligibility criteria and include geriatric-specific endpoints to better inform treatment decisions for older adults with breast cancer.