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Oncology Vol 28 No 9

I was recently consulted concerning a patient in the ICU at my hospital with advanced breast cancer, but I soon realized there were much larger issues at stake. This woman is in her 50s and was diagnosed approximately 1 year ago with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.

Cancer heterogeneity, long recognized as an important clinical determinant of patient outcomes, was poorly understood at a molecular level. Genomic studies have significantly improved our understanding of heterogeneity, and have pointed to ways in which heterogeneity might be understood and defeated for therapeutic effect.

The relative abundance of new data on the biological underpinnings of neuroendocrine tumors, combined with clinical trial data supporting new treatment options, is a clear sign of progress. Yet, as is so often the case, these recent studies have generated a multitude of new and different questions.