Your breast cancer round-up for May 2024
Every month we gather recent highlights in breast cancer research, new treatment developments, and the latest industry news. Here’s your update for May 2024.
Research round-up
MammaTyper® is an efficient and reproducible alternative to IHC: New research published in Histopathology suggests the RT-qPCR-based test MammaTyper® is a more reliable alternative to immunohistochemistry (IHC) for breast cancer subtyping. In a prospective study of more than 130 core-needle biopsies, the team led by Abeer Shabaan and Daniel Kearns showed MammaTyper® had great concordance with IHC, and was better able to identify HER2-low tumours.
Enhertu improves PFS in HER2-low and -ultralow HR+ metastatic breast cancer after endocrine therapy: The latest data from the Destiny-Breast06 trial shows Enhertu delivers a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) for patients with hormone receptor positive (HR+) metastatic breast cancer in both HER2-low and HER2-ultralow populations, following one or two lines of endocrine therapy.
Metastatic breast cancer quality of life survey: A new survey has uncovered the perspectives of patients on treatment for metastatic breast cancer. The findings, published in JCO Oncology Practice, reveal a significant burden of treatment-related side-effects, and preferences for flexible dosing options. The study recommends that better patient-clinician discussions could optimise quality of life for people with metastatic disease.
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Breast cancer in the news
Lancet breast cancer commission focusses on inequities: The Lancet published its Breast Cancer Commission report, focusing on new strategies to address breast cancer inequities. By 2040, there will be a predicted annual incidence of 3 million new cases worldwide. The Commission has developed an evidence-based roadmap to address challenges such as lack of data on metastatic breast cancer, hidden breast cancer costs, and improving communication with patients.
Could artificial intelligence (AI) help predict treatment response and outcomes in breast cancer?: That was the subject of a keynote address to the 2024 Miami Breast Cancer Conference from Anant Madabhushi of Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, summarised in The ASCO Post. Dr Madabhushi set out how AI could help address major challenges in breast cancer treatment, the latest developments, and the future for AI in pathology and radiology.
What is Cerca Biotech up to?
Q&A with Cristian Scatena on predicting response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy: Predicting response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in HER2-positive cancers remains a major clinical challenge. We spoke to consultant pathologist Dr Cristian Scatena about his recent work using MammaTyper®, and the use of AI in pathology in the future.
ESMO Breast Cancer: We’ll be attending the ESMO Breast Cancer Annual Congress in Berlin, 15-17 May. Let us know if you’ll be attending, and would like to meet with the Cerca Biotech team: info@cercabiotech.com