Novel therapeutic approaches to the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.
Metastatic breast cancer is ultimately an incurable disease, although recent data have shown that its incidence is decreasing and that patients with metastatic breast cancer live longer. This improvement in survival seems to be linked with the introduction of new therapeutic agents, novel combinations of existing therapies and targeted therapies. Our increasing understanding of the molecular biology of metastatic disease has allowed the development of therapies aimed at specific molecular targets. Some of these have already been approved for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in combination with cytotoxics, and others have shown promising results regarding disease-free survival, overall response rates and time to disease progression. Given the enormous amount of information about drug discovery in cancer, it is important to be familiar with the present state of the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. The purpose of this review is to provide an update on the development of some of the most promising novel agents and treatment strategies in metastatic breast cancer.
Fernández
Yolanda
Y
Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain. yolandafp2004@yahoo.es
Cueva
Juan
J
Palomo
Andrés G
AG
Ramos
Manuel
M
de Juan
Ana
A
Calvo
Lourdes
L
García-Mata
Jesús
J
García-Teijido
Paula
P
Peláez
Ignacio
I
García-Estévez
Laura
L
D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal