Positive data were reported from the first-ever randomized, multicenter, open-label phase III trial of the combination of two targeted agents, lapatinib (Tykerb) and trastuzumab (Herceptin), in women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. The study results, which were presented at the annual ASCO meeting in Chicago, demonstrated a benefit from the combination (abstract 1015). More>>

Breast Cancer is a unique effort in the world of breast cancer texts: Compact and concise, this 214-page book deals exclusively with breast cancer therapeutics, and strives to accomplish the difficult task of being as current as possible within the limited capabilities of the printed word in a rapidly evolving field. Dr. Seidman has assembled a distinguished group of authors, each of whom was assigned a topic, in the end covering all aspects of the medical oncologic scope of breast cancer... More>>

The Cancer International Research Group (CIRG), a division of TRIO (Translational Research in Oncology) announced that, based on its study BCIRG 006, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new regimen known as TCH (docetaxel [Taxotere] and carboplatin combined with trastuzumab [Herceptin]) for the adjuvant treatment of HER2-positive early breast cancer. The AC-TH regimen (doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by docetaxel and trastuzumab), also investigated in the BCIRG 006... More>>

Along with various imaging modalities, serologic tumor markers such as CA 15-3 and CA 27.29 have been used for decades to monitor treatment response in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Despite the frequent use of these markers, they lack high sensitivity and specificity for breast cancer progression. The prognostic significance of these markers remains indeterminate because of the conflicting outcome of many clinical trials. The circulating tumor cell (CTC) test has recently been... More>>

Important therapeutic innovations within the past several years have resulted in only modest survival benefits for women with metastatic breast cancer. In this setting, cancer remains incurable and treatment is mainly palliative, involving judiciously applied multiple endocrine, chemotherapeutic, or biologic therapies in an attempt to induce a series of remissions and, ultimately, adequate palliation. At present, we lack both a consensus management algorithm and an ideal treatment model of... More>>

A large, international trial has shown that adding the targeted therapy bevacizumab (Avastin) to the chemotherapy drug docetaxel (Taxotere) slows disease progression in patients without prior chemotherapy for locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. The results were presented by David Miles, md, a professor and medical oncologist at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Middlesex, UK, and the study’s lead author (abstract LBA1011). More>>

A large, international trial has shown that adding the targeted therapy bevacizumab (Avastin) to the chemotherapy drug docetaxel (Taxotere) slows disease progression in patients without prior chemotherapy for locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. The results were presented by David Miles, md, a professor and medical oncologist at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Middlesex, UK, and the study’s lead author (abstract LBA1011). More>>

Researchers report that zoledronic acid (Zometa), a drug used to treat bone metastases and recently approved to treat osteoporosis, also lowers the risk of breast cancer recurrence in premenopausal patients with early-stage disease who have undergone surgery and are receiving ovarian suppression and hormone therapy. All women in this multicenter phase III trial had cancer that was estrogen-receptor– or progesterone-receptor–positive. The study was presented at the ASCO plenary... More>>

Breast cancer treatments today are likely to cause less physical deformity from surgery than a half-century ago, but are more complex and extend over a longer period of time. Women today are often well informed about the details of their cancer diagnosis and prognosis, and are increasingly involved in shared decision-making regarding treatment. More>>

In her article on the psychological and social aspects of breast cancer, Dr. Ganz pays fitting tribute to the pioneering and prescient efforts of a great man who tried hard to bring more humanity into the management of the disease. More>>