Selected breast cancer highlights from the ASCO 2012

The abstracts are a selection of clinically relevant papers presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2012. The results of the EMILIA study were a milestone presented at the meeting. A total of 991 patients with metastatic Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer had been pretreated with a taxane and trastuzumab. They were randomized into two groups: Trastuzumab emtansine conjugate (T-DM1) or capecitabine-lapatinib. Significant differences were found with regard to progression-free survival and the two-year overall survival. Another study analyzed the relevance of the hormone-receptor (HR) status for the prognosis of patients with operable HER2-overexpressing breast cancer. A significant difference in the risk of the development of brain metastases was found depending on the HR status. In the MA.27 study, patients received adjuvant therapy with aromatase inhibitors. A significant proportion of cases reported therapy of osteoporosis, mainly with bisphosphonates. Osteoporosis therapy influenced recurrence-free survival. In another study, the prognostic influence of Ki-67 was evaluated before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy with TAC (docetaxel/doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide). A metaanalysis analyzed the possible discordance between the HR status and the HER2 status in the primary tumor as compared to metastasis in 2,806 breast cancer patients. The estrogen-receptor (ER)-, and the progesterone-receptor (PR) status as well as the HER2 status changed in a significant proportion of cases. Parenteral nutrition in 129 terminal oncological patients with progressive cancer was investigated within a randomized placebo-controlled trial. They either received one liter of 0.9 % physiological saline subcutaneously or placebo. Survival, symptoms of dehydration, and quality of life were analyzed.