In a nutshell This study determined whether treating breast cancer that has spread (metastatic) with olaparib (Lynparza) resulted in better outcomes and fewer side effects compared to chemotherapy. The study found that treatment with olaparib led to similar survival outcomes compared to chemotherapy. Some background There are...
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In From Physician to Patient, I introduced Dr. Kelly Shanahan, a mother, wife, and obstetrician-gynecologist living and working in California. Her life changed with a breast cancer diagnosis. “In 2008, I was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer, stage IIB to be exact. I underwent an aggressive bilateral mastectomy, because 1) as an ob/gyn...
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In a nutshell This study aimed to find out if endocrine therapy (ET) is best used alone or with targeted therapy in the treatment of hormone positive, HER2 negative advanced breast cancer. The study found that patients who used ET and targeted therapy together experienced a better quality of life in some regards compared to ET used alone. Some...
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In a nutshell This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of endocrine therapy, with or without targeted therapy, for patients with advanced metastatic breast cancer. This study concluded that the use of endocrine therapy and targeted therapy is safe for use in patients over 65. Some background There are several treatment...
Read MoreIn a nutshell This phase 3 trial aims to evaluate how effective pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is at treating triple negative breast cancer. The main outcome to be investigated is the invasive disease free survival. Other outcomes include the overall survival (time from treatment until death from any cause) and side effects. This trial is taking place...
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In a nutshell This study examined the effect that restarting hormone treatment, as compared to stopping it, had on progression-free survival. It found that restarting treatment led to increased progression-free survival. Some background Breast cancer is classified into different subtypes depending on the prescence or absence of certain...
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In a nutshell This study aimed to investigate zoledronic acid in combination with chemotherapy as a treatment for HER2-negative breast cancer. This study concluded that the addition of zoledronic acid to chemotherapy has potential benefits for certain breast cancer patients. Some background HER2-negative breast cancer (BC) differs from...
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In a nutshell This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of the combination of fulvestrant (Faslodex) and abemaciclib to fulvestrant alone in patients with advanced breast cancer. This study concluded that the combination of fulvestrant and abemaciclib had improved outcomes for patients when compared to fulvestrant alone. Some background...
Read MoreIn a nutshell This study investigated whether the addition of the PI3K inhibitor pictilisib (Stemolecule GDC-0941) can increase the anti-tumor effects of anastrozole (Arimidex) in patients with estrogen receptor-positive (ER-positive) primary breast cancer (BC). Combined treatment with pictilisib (PIC)...
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In a nutshell This study examined the effects of a combination of two treatments, low-dose capecitabine (Xeloda) and docetaxel (Taxotere), versus docetaxel alone in patients with metastatic, HER2-negative breast cancer. The study concluded that combination treatment improved time to disease progression. Some background...
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In a nutshell This study investigated whether paclitaxel (Taxol) alone, or paclitaxel combined with bevacizumab (Avastin), had better outcomes in treating metastatic breast cancer. The authors found that paclitaxel with bevacizumab combination resulted in much better overall survival times (time from treatment until death from any cause)...
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In a nutshell This study examined whether a combination of paclitaxel, capecitabine, and bevacizumab was safe and effective in treating triple-negative, locally-advanced metastatic breast cancer. The three drugs taken together were safe and highly effective in treating these patients. Some background In recent years, many new...
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