Current Treatment Approaches for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Posted: Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Vijayakrishna K. Gadi, MD, PhD, and Nancy E. Davidson, MD, of the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, recently provided a comprehensive review of treatment strategies for triple-negative breast cancer in the Journal of Oncology Practice. They explored recent advances in the understanding and treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, focusing on targeted agents, biologics, and immunotherapy.
The authors noted that advances in research, understanding, and treatment of triple-negative breast cancer have lagged behind those for estrogen receptor–positive and HER2-positive disease. The standard treatment of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer continues to be sequential single-agent therapy with taxanes, topoisomerase II inhibitors, and platinum-based and other cytotoxic agents. Drs. Gadi and Davidson noted, however, that clinical trials should be considered for patients if feasible, with an emphasis on immunotherapy and studies leveraging knowledge of tumor biology.
Subsets of patients may benefit from novel treatments, including antibody-drug conjugates, immunotherapies, and small-molecule targeted agents. A focus on the unique aspects of individual tumors and improved understanding of tumor biology essential to further research, deliver appropriate therapies, and improve survival rates in patients with triple-negative breast cancer, the authors concluded.
