MBCC

MIAMI BEACH – Often people living with cancer hesitate to ask their providers about sensitive and important issues surrounding sexuality and fertility. At the same time, some clinicians remain uncomfortable raising questions regarding sexual function or simply lack the time to appropriately address the issues during a patient encounter.

A new online resource aims to solve both problems simultaneously, giving both patients and providers the tools to meaningfully address sexuality and fertility issues, Leslie R. Schover, PhD, said in a video interview at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

The Will2love.com site features first-person patient account videos from women and men who faced similar concerns, said Dr. Schover, founder of the Will2Love digital health company based in Houston. In addition, vignettes with actors inform patients and also model how oncologists, oncology nurses, and other staff could effectively communicate with concerned patients. A professional portal offers online skills training for clinicians.

[email protected]

MIAMI BEACH – Often people living with cancer hesitate to ask their providers about sensitive and important issues surrounding sexuality and fertility. At the same time, some clinicians remain uncomfortable raising questions regarding sexual function or simply lack the time to appropriately address the issues during a patient encounter.

A new online resource aims to solve both problems simultaneously, giving both patients and providers the tools to meaningfully address sexuality and fertility issues, Leslie R. Schover, PhD, said in a video interview at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

The Will2love.com site features first-person patient account videos from women and men who faced similar concerns, said Dr. Schover, founder of the Will2Love digital health company based in Houston. In addition, vignettes with actors inform patients and also model how oncologists, oncology nurses, and other staff could effectively communicate with concerned patients. A professional portal offers online skills training for clinicians.

[email protected]

MIAMI BEACH – Often people living with cancer hesitate to ask their providers about sensitive and important issues surrounding sexuality and fertility. At the same time, some clinicians remain uncomfortable raising questions regarding sexual function or simply lack the time to appropriately address the issues during a patient encounter.

A new online resource aims to solve both problems simultaneously, giving both patients and providers the tools to meaningfully address sexuality and fertility issues, Leslie R. Schover, PhD, said in a video interview at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

The Will2love.com site features first-person patient account videos from women and men who faced similar concerns, said Dr. Schover, founder of the Will2Love digital health company based in Houston. In addition, vignettes with actors inform patients and also model how oncologists, oncology nurses, and other staff could effectively communicate with concerned patients. A professional portal offers online skills training for clinicians.

[email protected]

MIAMI BEACH – The Food and Drug Administration has accepted pathological complete response rate (pCR) as a surrogate endpoint for disease-free and overall survival in clinical trials for neoadjuvant therapy of breast cancer.

Yet the specimen collection and histopathologic methods used to measure pCR have differed considerably across major neoadjuvant trials for breast cancer, said Michael F. Press, MD, PhD, of the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, Los Angeles.

In a video interview conducted at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource, Dr. Press outlined the problems associated with a lack of standardization of outcomes measures, and described how residual cancer burden may be a more effective, validated measures for comparing outcomes across clinical trials.

MIAMI BEACH – The Food and Drug Administration has accepted pathological complete response rate (pCR) as a surrogate endpoint for disease-free and overall survival in clinical trials for neoadjuvant therapy of breast cancer.

Yet the specimen collection and histopathologic methods used to measure pCR have differed considerably across major neoadjuvant trials for breast cancer, said Michael F. Press, MD, PhD, of the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, Los Angeles.

In a video interview conducted at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource, Dr. Press outlined the problems associated with a lack of standardization of outcomes measures, and described how residual cancer burden may be a more effective, validated measures for comparing outcomes across clinical trials.

MIAMI BEACH – The Food and Drug Administration has accepted pathological complete response rate (pCR) as a surrogate endpoint for disease-free and overall survival in clinical trials for neoadjuvant therapy of breast cancer.

Yet the specimen collection and histopathologic methods used to measure pCR have differed considerably across major neoadjuvant trials for breast cancer, said Michael F. Press, MD, PhD, of the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, Los Angeles.

In a video interview conducted at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource, Dr. Press outlined the problems associated with a lack of standardization of outcomes measures, and described how residual cancer burden may be a more effective, validated measures for comparing outcomes across clinical trials.

MIAMI BEACH – Growing evidence continues to point to a widening separation between female and male breast cancers, particularly with discoveries suggesting different pathways to disease and important genetic distinctions.

Therefore, the traditional practice of extrapolating findings from female breast cancer research to men with breast cancer no longer makes sense, Patrick I. Borgen, MD, said at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

The incidence of male breast cancer is increasing. At the same time, fewer men with breast cancer get referred for and undergo genetic testing for their disease, said Dr. Borgen, chair of the department of surgery at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Dr. Borgen explained in a video interview that both maternal and paternal inheritance of breast cancer are important, and they tie the lineage into a hypothesis for why BRCA mutations – which can predispose people to worse survival – have persisted through generations.

MIAMI BEACH – Growing evidence continues to point to a widening separation between female and male breast cancers, particularly with discoveries suggesting different pathways to disease and important genetic distinctions.

Therefore, the traditional practice of extrapolating findings from female breast cancer research to men with breast cancer no longer makes sense, Patrick I. Borgen, MD, said at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

The incidence of male breast cancer is increasing. At the same time, fewer men with breast cancer get referred for and undergo genetic testing for their disease, said Dr. Borgen, chair of the department of surgery at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Dr. Borgen explained in a video interview that both maternal and paternal inheritance of breast cancer are important, and they tie the lineage into a hypothesis for why BRCA mutations – which can predispose people to worse survival – have persisted through generations.

MIAMI BEACH – Growing evidence continues to point to a widening separation between female and male breast cancers, particularly with discoveries suggesting different pathways to disease and important genetic distinctions.

Therefore, the traditional practice of extrapolating findings from female breast cancer research to men with breast cancer no longer makes sense, Patrick I. Borgen, MD, said at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

The incidence of male breast cancer is increasing. At the same time, fewer men with breast cancer get referred for and undergo genetic testing for their disease, said Dr. Borgen, chair of the department of surgery at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Dr. Borgen explained in a video interview that both maternal and paternal inheritance of breast cancer are important, and they tie the lineage into a hypothesis for why BRCA mutations – which can predispose people to worse survival – have persisted through generations.

MIAMI BEACH – The remarkable progress seen with immune checkpoint inhibitors in metastatic melanoma, non–small-cell lung cancer, and other tumors has yet to be replicated in breast cancer, but it’s early days yet, and breast cancer researchers need more time before the ultimate clinical benefits of immunotherapy in breast cancer can be ascertained, said Adam M. Brufsky, MD, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh.

Early studies with inhibitors of programmed death-1 (PD-1) and its ligand PD-L1 in patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer have yielded only minimal response rates to date, but it it’s far too early to give up on the concept, Dr. Brufsky cautioned at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

In a video interview, he discussed the challenges of treating breast cancers, which may be less immunogenic and have a lower tumor mutational burden than other malignancies that respond more readily to PD-1 inhibition. Several large, phase III clinical trials of checkpoint inhibitors combined with cytotoxic chemotherapy are underway, he said, and those eventual findings may shed light on the optimal approach to using immunotherapy to treat patients with refractory metastatic breast cancers.

MIAMI BEACH – The remarkable progress seen with immune checkpoint inhibitors in metastatic melanoma, non–small-cell lung cancer, and other tumors has yet to be replicated in breast cancer, but it’s early days yet, and breast cancer researchers need more time before the ultimate clinical benefits of immunotherapy in breast cancer can be ascertained, said Adam M. Brufsky, MD, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh.

Early studies with inhibitors of programmed death-1 (PD-1) and its ligand PD-L1 in patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer have yielded only minimal response rates to date, but it it’s far too early to give up on the concept, Dr. Brufsky cautioned at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

In a video interview, he discussed the challenges of treating breast cancers, which may be less immunogenic and have a lower tumor mutational burden than other malignancies that respond more readily to PD-1 inhibition. Several large, phase III clinical trials of checkpoint inhibitors combined with cytotoxic chemotherapy are underway, he said, and those eventual findings may shed light on the optimal approach to using immunotherapy to treat patients with refractory metastatic breast cancers.

MIAMI BEACH – The remarkable progress seen with immune checkpoint inhibitors in metastatic melanoma, non–small-cell lung cancer, and other tumors has yet to be replicated in breast cancer, but it’s early days yet, and breast cancer researchers need more time before the ultimate clinical benefits of immunotherapy in breast cancer can be ascertained, said Adam M. Brufsky, MD, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh.

Early studies with inhibitors of programmed death-1 (PD-1) and its ligand PD-L1 in patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer have yielded only minimal response rates to date, but it it’s far too early to give up on the concept, Dr. Brufsky cautioned at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

In a video interview, he discussed the challenges of treating breast cancers, which may be less immunogenic and have a lower tumor mutational burden than other malignancies that respond more readily to PD-1 inhibition. Several large, phase III clinical trials of checkpoint inhibitors combined with cytotoxic chemotherapy are underway, he said, and those eventual findings may shed light on the optimal approach to using immunotherapy to treat patients with refractory metastatic breast cancers.

MIAMI BEACH – Driven by efficacy demonstrated in ovarian cancer, a number of PARP inhibitors are in development and hold promise for treatment of breast cancer as well, including patients positive for the BRCA mutation.

Interestingly, early evidence suggests these agents could also treat BRCA-negative women, potentially expanding their future clinical utility, Kimberly L. Blackwell, MD, said in a video interview at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

MIAMI BEACH – Driven by efficacy demonstrated in ovarian cancer, a number of PARP inhibitors are in development and hold promise for treatment of breast cancer as well, including patients positive for the BRCA mutation.

Interestingly, early evidence suggests these agents could also treat BRCA-negative women, potentially expanding their future clinical utility, Kimberly L. Blackwell, MD, said in a video interview at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

MIAMI BEACH – Driven by efficacy demonstrated in ovarian cancer, a number of PARP inhibitors are in development and hold promise for treatment of breast cancer as well, including patients positive for the BRCA mutation.

Interestingly, early evidence suggests these agents could also treat BRCA-negative women, potentially expanding their future clinical utility, Kimberly L. Blackwell, MD, said in a video interview at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

MIAMI BEACH – Breast tumors positive for the human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) comprise only about 20% of all breast cancers, but for patients with HER2-positive disease, neoadjuvant therapy with trastuzumab (Herceptin) was and is a game changer, improving pathological complete response rates and long-term disease-free and overall survival rates, Debu Tripathy, MD, said at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

In the nearly 2 decades that have passed since the approval of trastuzumab, clinicians have learned how best to use HER2 inhibitors, how to weigh the relative risks and benefits of anti-HER2 therapy in patients who may be at risk for cardiotoxicities such as heart failure, and what combination regimens work best with HER2 inhibitors in early-stage disease.

In a video interview, Dr. Tripathy, professor and chair of the department of breast medical oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, discusses current clinical considerations for the use of trastuzumab and pertuzumab (Perjeta) in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings, investigational targeted therapies and immunotherapeutic strategies, and recently released clinical trial data showing a significant increase in disease-free survival for patients treated with dual HER2-blockade compared with HER2 monotherapy.

MIAMI BEACH – Breast tumors positive for the human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) comprise only about 20% of all breast cancers, but for patients with HER2-positive disease, neoadjuvant therapy with trastuzumab (Herceptin) was and is a game changer, improving pathological complete response rates and long-term disease-free and overall survival rates, Debu Tripathy, MD, said at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

In the nearly 2 decades that have passed since the approval of trastuzumab, clinicians have learned how best to use HER2 inhibitors, how to weigh the relative risks and benefits of anti-HER2 therapy in patients who may be at risk for cardiotoxicities such as heart failure, and what combination regimens work best with HER2 inhibitors in early-stage disease.

In a video interview, Dr. Tripathy, professor and chair of the department of breast medical oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, discusses current clinical considerations for the use of trastuzumab and pertuzumab (Perjeta) in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings, investigational targeted therapies and immunotherapeutic strategies, and recently released clinical trial data showing a significant increase in disease-free survival for patients treated with dual HER2-blockade compared with HER2 monotherapy.

MIAMI BEACH – Breast tumors positive for the human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) comprise only about 20% of all breast cancers, but for patients with HER2-positive disease, neoadjuvant therapy with trastuzumab (Herceptin) was and is a game changer, improving pathological complete response rates and long-term disease-free and overall survival rates, Debu Tripathy, MD, said at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

In the nearly 2 decades that have passed since the approval of trastuzumab, clinicians have learned how best to use HER2 inhibitors, how to weigh the relative risks and benefits of anti-HER2 therapy in patients who may be at risk for cardiotoxicities such as heart failure, and what combination regimens work best with HER2 inhibitors in early-stage disease.

In a video interview, Dr. Tripathy, professor and chair of the department of breast medical oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, discusses current clinical considerations for the use of trastuzumab and pertuzumab (Perjeta) in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings, investigational targeted therapies and immunotherapeutic strategies, and recently released clinical trial data showing a significant increase in disease-free survival for patients treated with dual HER2-blockade compared with HER2 monotherapy.

MIAMI BEACH – Although typically not as immunogenic as melanoma or lung cancer, breast cancer can respond to immunotherapy. Promising strategies in development each aim to optimize an individual patient’s ability to respond to immunotherapy in advance.

Augmenting infiltration of T cells into the breast so their levels will be high enough to mount a formidable response is one tactic. In addition, preimmunotherapy radiation or cryoimmunotherapy to release neoantigens – so the immune system has something to which to respond – are additional avenues being explored, Elizabeth A. Mittendorf, MD, PhD, said in a video interview at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

MIAMI BEACH – Although typically not as immunogenic as melanoma or lung cancer, breast cancer can respond to immunotherapy. Promising strategies in development each aim to optimize an individual patient’s ability to respond to immunotherapy in advance.

Augmenting infiltration of T cells into the breast so their levels will be high enough to mount a formidable response is one tactic. In addition, preimmunotherapy radiation or cryoimmunotherapy to release neoantigens – so the immune system has something to which to respond – are additional avenues being explored, Elizabeth A. Mittendorf, MD, PhD, said in a video interview at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

MIAMI BEACH – Although typically not as immunogenic as melanoma or lung cancer, breast cancer can respond to immunotherapy. Promising strategies in development each aim to optimize an individual patient’s ability to respond to immunotherapy in advance.

Augmenting infiltration of T cells into the breast so their levels will be high enough to mount a formidable response is one tactic. In addition, preimmunotherapy radiation or cryoimmunotherapy to release neoantigens – so the immune system has something to which to respond – are additional avenues being explored, Elizabeth A. Mittendorf, MD, PhD, said in a video interview at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

MIAMI BEACH – Randomized clinical trials are the gold standard for evidence-based medicine, but only about 5% of patients are enrolled. The majority of patients who are being treated for diseases such as breast cancer are ineligible for trials due to advanced age, poor performance, comorbidities, or other factors, noted Mohammad Jahanzeb, MD, professor of hematology/oncology at the University of Miami.

In contrast, studies using data from prospective registries provide valuable insights for investigators into diseases of real patients in real-world settings. Registry studies serve as a “living laboratory” that can help inform clinical practice, generate new clinical questions, and optimize clinical trial designs, he said at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

In a video interview, Dr. Jahanzeb described the benefits of large patient registries and studies based on their data, including the registerHER and SystHERs observational registries of women with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive metastatic breast cancer.

MIAMI BEACH – Randomized clinical trials are the gold standard for evidence-based medicine, but only about 5% of patients are enrolled. The majority of patients who are being treated for diseases such as breast cancer are ineligible for trials due to advanced age, poor performance, comorbidities, or other factors, noted Mohammad Jahanzeb, MD, professor of hematology/oncology at the University of Miami.

In contrast, studies using data from prospective registries provide valuable insights for investigators into diseases of real patients in real-world settings. Registry studies serve as a “living laboratory” that can help inform clinical practice, generate new clinical questions, and optimize clinical trial designs, he said at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

In a video interview, Dr. Jahanzeb described the benefits of large patient registries and studies based on their data, including the registerHER and SystHERs observational registries of women with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive metastatic breast cancer.

MIAMI BEACH – Randomized clinical trials are the gold standard for evidence-based medicine, but only about 5% of patients are enrolled. The majority of patients who are being treated for diseases such as breast cancer are ineligible for trials due to advanced age, poor performance, comorbidities, or other factors, noted Mohammad Jahanzeb, MD, professor of hematology/oncology at the University of Miami.

In contrast, studies using data from prospective registries provide valuable insights for investigators into diseases of real patients in real-world settings. Registry studies serve as a “living laboratory” that can help inform clinical practice, generate new clinical questions, and optimize clinical trial designs, he said at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

In a video interview, Dr. Jahanzeb described the benefits of large patient registries and studies based on their data, including the registerHER and SystHERs observational registries of women with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive metastatic breast cancer.

MIAMI BEACH – Unquestionably, the advent of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) inhibitors has dramatically improved long-term outcomes in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.

But the benefits of therapy with the HER2-inhibitor trastuzumab (Herceptin) must be weighed against its potential for causing or exacerbating cardiomyopathy, especially when combined with anthracyclines such as doxorubicin that are associated with increased risk for late cardiotoxicity, said Sara Hurvitz, MD, director of the Breast Cancer Clinical Research Program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Santa Monica, Calif.

In a video interview, Dr. Hurvitz discussed strategies under development for identifying and evaluating biomarkers and cardiac imaging studies that could help to identify patients at highest risk for long-term cardiotoxicity, as well as alternative therapeutic regimens that eliminate the need for anthracyclines.

Dr. Hurvitz disclosed grants/research support from Amgen, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Roche, Biomarin, Merrimack, OBI Pharma, Puma Biotechnology, Dignitana, Medivation, Lilly and Novartis, and travel reimbursement from Lilly, Novartis, and OBI Pharma.

MIAMI BEACH – Unquestionably, the advent of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) inhibitors has dramatically improved long-term outcomes in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.

But the benefits of therapy with the HER2-inhibitor trastuzumab (Herceptin) must be weighed against its potential for causing or exacerbating cardiomyopathy, especially when combined with anthracyclines such as doxorubicin that are associated with increased risk for late cardiotoxicity, said Sara Hurvitz, MD, director of the Breast Cancer Clinical Research Program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Santa Monica, Calif.

In a video interview, Dr. Hurvitz discussed strategies under development for identifying and evaluating biomarkers and cardiac imaging studies that could help to identify patients at highest risk for long-term cardiotoxicity, as well as alternative therapeutic regimens that eliminate the need for anthracyclines.

Dr. Hurvitz disclosed grants/research support from Amgen, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Roche, Biomarin, Merrimack, OBI Pharma, Puma Biotechnology, Dignitana, Medivation, Lilly and Novartis, and travel reimbursement from Lilly, Novartis, and OBI Pharma.

MIAMI BEACH – Unquestionably, the advent of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) inhibitors has dramatically improved long-term outcomes in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.

But the benefits of therapy with the HER2-inhibitor trastuzumab (Herceptin) must be weighed against its potential for causing or exacerbating cardiomyopathy, especially when combined with anthracyclines such as doxorubicin that are associated with increased risk for late cardiotoxicity, said Sara Hurvitz, MD, director of the Breast Cancer Clinical Research Program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Santa Monica, Calif.

In a video interview, Dr. Hurvitz discussed strategies under development for identifying and evaluating biomarkers and cardiac imaging studies that could help to identify patients at highest risk for long-term cardiotoxicity, as well as alternative therapeutic regimens that eliminate the need for anthracyclines.

Dr. Hurvitz disclosed grants/research support from Amgen, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Roche, Biomarin, Merrimack, OBI Pharma, Puma Biotechnology, Dignitana, Medivation, Lilly and Novartis, and travel reimbursement from Lilly, Novartis, and OBI Pharma.

MIAMI BEACH – Recent scientific discoveries about the myriad of ways a women with HER2 receptor–positive breast cancer can develop treatment resistance is spurring the development of some promising agents, Mark D. Pegram, MD, said at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

The antibody-drug conjugate T-DM1 holds significant potential, for example, because it seems to confer benefit regardless of a patients’ PIK3CA mutation status, said Dr. Pegram, director of the breast cancer oncology program at Stanford Women’s Cancer Center in California. Other antibody-drug conjugates and additional types of agents are showing enough promise overall that Dr. Pegram is predicting a bright future for improving treatment of this patient population.

Creating a number of new agents is a good thing, Dr. Pegram said in a video interview, because it’s unlikely any one therapy will work for everyone with HER2 treatment-resistant breast cancer. Therefore, precision medicine is expected to guide individual therapeutic choices in the future.

Dr. Pegram disclosed that he is a consultant for Genetech, Novartis, Oncothyreon, and Pfizer.

MIAMI BEACH – Recent scientific discoveries about the myriad of ways a women with HER2 receptor–positive breast cancer can develop treatment resistance is spurring the development of some promising agents, Mark D. Pegram, MD, said at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

The antibody-drug conjugate T-DM1 holds significant potential, for example, because it seems to confer benefit regardless of a patients’ PIK3CA mutation status, said Dr. Pegram, director of the breast cancer oncology program at Stanford Women’s Cancer Center in California. Other antibody-drug conjugates and additional types of agents are showing enough promise overall that Dr. Pegram is predicting a bright future for improving treatment of this patient population.

Creating a number of new agents is a good thing, Dr. Pegram said in a video interview, because it’s unlikely any one therapy will work for everyone with HER2 treatment-resistant breast cancer. Therefore, precision medicine is expected to guide individual therapeutic choices in the future.

Dr. Pegram disclosed that he is a consultant for Genetech, Novartis, Oncothyreon, and Pfizer.

MIAMI BEACH – Recent scientific discoveries about the myriad of ways a women with HER2 receptor–positive breast cancer can develop treatment resistance is spurring the development of some promising agents, Mark D. Pegram, MD, said at the annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference, held by Physicians’ Education Resource.

The antibody-drug conjugate T-DM1 holds significant potential, for example, because it seems to confer benefit regardless of a patients’ PIK3CA mutation status, said Dr. Pegram, director of the breast cancer oncology program at Stanford Women’s Cancer Center in California. Other antibody-drug conjugates and additional types of agents are showing enough promise overall that Dr. Pegram is predicting a bright future for improving treatment of this patient population.

Creating a number of new agents is a good thing, Dr. Pegram said in a video interview, because it’s unlikely any one therapy will work for everyone with HER2 treatment-resistant breast cancer. Therefore, precision medicine is expected to guide individual therapeutic choices in the future.

Dr. Pegram disclosed that he is a consultant for Genetech, Novartis, Oncothyreon, and Pfizer.