Advances In Breast Cancer Treatment

Plenary and late-breaking studies that advance the treatment of both early and advanced breast cancer were released at a press briefing at the 44th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).


"We have a multitude of therapies for women with breast cancer, but continue to need new treatments that are more effective and have fewer side effects," said Eric Winer, MD, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, director of the Breast Oncology Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and moderator of the press briefing. "Our goal is to prevent recurrence and prolong survival for patients with early-stage breast cancer, and control disease and improve survival for patients with advanced disease."


Study findings include:


- A plenary study found that giving zoledronic acid (Zometa), a drug used to treat bone metastases and recently approved to treat osteoporosis, to premenopausal women undergoing ovarian suppression and hormone therapy significantly reduces the risk of recurrence in early-stage breast cancer.


- A late-breaking study found that adding bevacizumab (Avastin) to docetaxel (Taxotere) slows disease progression for patients newly diagnosed with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. This study adds to previous findings on bevacizumab for treating breast cancer.


The press briefing also highlighted research on the effectiveness of chemotherapy after surgery for older women with early-stage breast cancer. The study suggests that standard adjuvant chemotherapy is effective in older women and cannot be replaced by the entirely oral chemotherapy agent, capecitabine. The study is important since little data exist on the effects of adjuvant chemotherapy in older women, and physicians have little guidance about whether chemotherapy may do more harm than good in this population.


For consumer-oriented information on these studies and more than 120 cancer types and cancer-related syndromes, please refer your readers to ASCO's oncologist-vetted patient website, cancer.

American Society of Clinical Oncology


View drug information on Avastin; Taxotere; Zometa.