Treating the HER2 Pathway in Early and Advanced Breast Cancer
ERBB2 gene amplification occurs in ∼20% of human breast cancers (BC) and is associated with an adverse clinical prognosis, indicating that it may be playing a critical role in disease…
The Management of Early-Stage and Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), defined as lacking expression of the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2, comprises approximately 15% of incident breast cancers and is over-represented among those with metastatic…
Endocrine Therapy for Advanced/Metastatic Breast Cancer
First-line endocrine therapy by estrogen antagonism or suppression of estrogen achieves objective responses (ORs) and clinical benefit (CB) in around 30% and 50% of estrogen receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer patients,…
Tailoring Adjuvant Treatments for the Individual Patient with Luminal Breast Cancer
Estrogen Receptor–positive/HER-2 negative breast cancers represent a heterogeneous group of tumors. Luminal A and B tumor subtypes can be identified through immunohistochemical assessment of estrogen and progesterone receptor, Ki-67 and…
Radiation Therapy for Duct Carcinoma in Situ
Duct carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a common but non–life-threatening breast cancer. Four large prospective randomized trials comparing radiation therapy (RT) with none after breast-conservation surgery have all concluded that…
Management of the Axilla
The development and wide acceptance of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has profoundly affected the management of breast cancer. SLNB has spared the additional morbidity of axillary lymph node dissection…
Breast Cancer Prevention by Antihormones and Other Drugs
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. The selective estrogen-receptor (ER) modulators tamoxifen and raloxifene are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the preventive therapy…
Breast Cancer Treatment in the Era of Individualized Care
Harold J. Burstein, MD, PhD, Editor Breast cancer management has entered the era of personalized medicine. It is widely appreciated that breast cancers differ in their biology and treatment needs….
