Can we approach zero relapse in breast cancer?
Adjuvant hormonal therapy and adjuvant chemotherapy have contributed significantly to the falling rates of breast cancer mortality. The introduction of taxanes and aromatase inhibitors in the adjuvant setting represents recent important improvements. More recently, the demonstration of significant benefit in the adjuvant setting with novel molecular targeted therapies (such as trastuzumab [Herceptin; Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, http://www.gene.com]) is already beginning to have a substantial impact on the adjuvant treatment of patients with certain tumor characteristics (i.e., HER-2 positivity). Neoadjuvant treatment represents an approach that offers an intermediate end point (i.e., pathologic complete response) that can be used as a marker of therapeutic activity. Furthermore, the use of genomic profiling is starting to replace the traditional prognostic and predictive factors currently used to estimate risks for recurrence and response to particular adjuvant therapies. These recent developments have demonstrated that the notion of approaching zero relapse in breast cancer patients is now within our reach.
Mamounas
Eleftherios P
EP
Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Aultman Cancer Center, 2600 6th Street SW, Canton, Ohio 44710, USA. tmamounas@aultman.com
D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D047072:Aromatase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence
D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; D047072:Aromatase Inhibitors