Another PARP inhibitor showing promise

PARP inhibitors are unique molecules targeting only the PARP enzyme in BRCA 1/2 mutated cells, they are generally well tolerated as compared to chemotherapy. In this year at San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, the EMBRACA trial results were presented in abstract form.

The talazoparib arm patients reported better quality of life score as well as there was a significant delay in the time to deterioration

 

Continue reading “Another PARP inhibitor showing promise”

HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer

HER2, or human epidermal growth factor 2, is a special protein (receptor) on the surface breast cancer cells, and it controls the growth of the cancer cells. The HER2 protein is present as a result of overexpression or amplification of the oncogene ERBB2. A tumor is considered HER2 positive by either the presence of HER2 protein presence and/or the overexpression of HER2 gene (the ERBB2). HER2 positive tumors are considered aggressive and have a tendency to recur, however, there are newer medications targeting HER2-positive cancer and led to significant improvement in outcome. 15% to 20% of all invasive breast cancer is reported to be HER2 positive. In this post, I will discuss the treatment of metastatic HER2 positive disease only, the nonmetastatic disease will be presented at a later date.

her2 testing must be done on biopsy material of metastatic site in all patients.

Continue reading “HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer”

Triple Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer

Triple negative (TNBC) metastatic breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, chemotherapy remains the mainstay of treatment, however, new treatments based on identifying molecular subtypes, stratifying TNBC based on gene expression assays with subsequent specific targeted therapy is an area of intense clinical research. In this post, I will review our current standard clinical practice and explore ongoing and future clinical directions.

Metastatic TNBC is very heterogenous, and while Basal type is most common, it only account for nearly 80% of all cases.

 

Continue reading “Triple Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer”