Conference MDAngle: ASCO 2024 – Early Breast Cancer

Conference MDAngle offers personal perspectives from conference attendees, showcasing their anticipation, quick takeaways, and insights into how the presented research will affect their patients.

The 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting took place in Chicago, Illinois from May 31 to June 3. The diverse array of data in early breast cancer research included addressing unmet needs in early triple-negative breast cancer after neoadjuvant therapy and exploring adjuvant endocrine therapy in the estrogen receptor (ER)–low population. In addition, there was a focus on optimizing circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) use in recurrence monitoring, aiming for clearer guidelines in clinical practice.

Avan J. Armaghani, MD

Assistant Member, Department of Breast Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida

"I think an area of unmet need that's being looked at closely are those patients with triple-negative breast cancer who have received neoadjuvant therapy and after surgery have residual disease, and what exactly do we do with those patients?"

Preconference Considerations

ASCO 2024: Addressing Unmet Needs in Early Breast Cancer

Dr Armaghani previews ASCO 2024, highlighting updates in addressing unmet needs in early breast cancer, including the A-BRAVE trial's investigation into the efficacy of avelumab. She also anticipates discussions on optimizing ctDNA use for recurrence monitoring.

Quick Clinical Takeaways

ASCO 2024: Two Key Insights on New Early Breast Cancer Data

Dr Armaghani highlights two significant presentations from ASCO. First, a retrospective study revealed that omitting adjuvant endocrine therapy in ER-low breast cancer leads to significantly worse overall survival, particularly in patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy without a complete response. Second, the NATALEE study update indicated that adjuvant ribociclib improves invasive disease–free and distant recurrence–free survival in patients with node-negative breast cancers, suggesting promising treatment options and prompting further investigation into identifying the subgroups that would benefit most.

How Will My Patients Benefit?

ASCO 2024: Navigating New Data in Early Breast Cancer

Dr Armaghani highlights studies from ASCO 2024 on adjuvant endocrine therapy in ER-low populations and the expanded use of ribociclib in patients with node-negative breast cancers. She emphasizes the need for further research to identify which patients benefit the most from these therapies.

Polling Question

Summary

ASCO 2024 addressed several unmet needs in early breast cancer, including the A-BRAVE trial's exploration of avelumab's efficacy and discussions on optimizing ctDNA for recurrence monitoring. Notable presentations included findings revealing worse overall survival with omitted adjuvant endocrine therapy in ER-low breast cancer post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and the NATALEE study update showcasing adjuvant ribociclib's efficacy in improving disease-free survival in patients with node-negative breast cancer, indicating promising treatment avenues warranting further investigation into optimal patient selection. In reflecting on the conference, Dr Armaghani emphasizes the importance of ongoing research to identify the patient subgroups that would derive maximal benefit from these therapies.

Resources:

Comments

Commenting is limited to medical professionals. To comment please Log-in.

Comments on Medscape are moderated and should be professional in tone and on topic. You must declare any conflicts of interest related to your comments and responses. Please see our Commenting Guide for further information. We reserve the right to remove posts at our sole discretion.