The FDA has granted approval to abemaciclib (Verzenio®, Eli Lilly and Company) with endocrine therapy—tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor—for treatment of adult patients with hormone receptor (HR)–positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)–negative, node-positive early breast cancer that is at a high risk of recurrence. Patients considered at high risk for recurrence include those with four or more pathologic axillary lymph nodes (pALN) or one to three pALN plus either a grade 3 t...

The FDA has approved olaparib (Lynparza®, AstraZeneca) for the adjuvant treatment of patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA–mutated, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)–negative high-risk early breast cancer who have previously received adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Olaparib is a poly–adenosine diphosphate ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor and is the first approved medication targeting BRCA mutations in early breast cancer. "Approximately 5% of unse...

The FDA has approved abemaciclib (Verzenio®, Eli Lilly and Company) in combination with endocrine therapy consisting of an aromatase inhibitor or tamoxifen as adjuvant therapy for patients with hormone receptor (HR)–positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)–negative, node-positive early breast cancer with a high risk of recurrence. Abemaciclib, the first CDK4/6 inhibitor to be approved in the adjuvant breast cancer setting, is indicated for patients with a Ki-67 score of ≥20%. In...

Ten-year results from the FAST study show that there are no significant differences in normal tissue effects (NTE) rates after 28.5 Gy/5 fractions (fr) compared with 50 Gy/25 fr in patients with early breast cancer; however, NTE were higher with 30 Gy/5 fr, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. In an interview with i3 Health, Murray Brunt, MBBS, FRCP, FRCR, lead study author, provides insights on the significance of these results and how treatment will evolve in the...

A phase 2 clinical trial assessing the feasibility of adjuvant palbociclib (Ibrance®, Pfizer) and endocrine therapy for patients with early breast cancer reports that it is an effective treatment for these patients. Palbociclib, a targeted therapy drug that inhibits cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK4/6), causes the cancerous cells to stop dividing and reproducing, ultimately stopping cancer growth. This drug has already been approved for advanced metastatic breast cancer. For the study, publ...