Extended adjuvant endocrine treatment for premenopausal women: A Delphi approach to guide clinical practice

Optimizing Premenopausal Hormone Receptor-Positive Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Negative Early Breast Cancer Management in India: Insights From Expert Consensus

This research aims to optimize adjuvant ovarian function suppression (OFS) for premenopausal Indian women with hormone receptor-positive (HR+) /human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) early breast cancer (eBC). To address specific challenges identified in clinical practice, a comprehensive questionnaire consisting of 21 statements was developed. These statements were reviewed and validated by a scientific committee, ensuring their accuracy and relevance to the study's objectives. A panel of 46 Indian experts and one global expert in the field of eBC were asked to rate their level of agreement/disagreement with each statement. Consensus was defined as achieving ≥80% agreement among participants. Following two rounds of the modified Delphi technique, a consensus was achieved on 19 out of 21 statements addressing critical aspects of premenopausal HR+ HER2- eBC management. The expert panel strongly recommended comprehensive risk stratification for premenopausal patients with HR+ HER2- eBC, highlighting age ≤40 as a high-risk factor and advising composite assessments for patients ≥40 years. For high-risk patients, OFS coupled with an aromatase inhibitor emerged as the recommended therapeutic strategy. The panel recommended a potential duration of up to five years for OFS, provided tolerability is maintained. For patients under 40, simultaneous OFS and chemotherapy is advised when needed. For those over 40, sequential initiation is acceptable. Triptorelin is preferred among luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogs, though all options have similar efficacies. The outcomes of this consensus offer valuable clinical guidance, enabling individualized and evidence-based approaches for OFS in Indian patients with HR+ HER2- eBC.

Adjuvant treatment in hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer: New approaches of endocrine therapy

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, and luminal breast cancer is the predominant subtype, characterized by the presence of estrogen receptors and/or progesterone receptors in tumor cells. Adjuvant endocrine therapy is the pivotal approach in the management of luminal early breast cancer. Hence, new therapeutic approaches have been studied during the last few years, especially in patients with high risk of recurrence.Here we provide a summary of the most recent clinical trials evaluating adjuvant treatment in hormone-receptors-positive early breast cancer. First, the main cornerstone is related to the role of extended endocrine treatment, which has been widely investigated to access a benefit in disease-free survival and overall survival (only the GIM4 trial has positive feedback about survival) and to tailor the treatment according to patient compliance. The results highlighted an advantage in extending the use of endocrine treatment for at least seven full years, considering aromatase inhibitors as principal drugs. Second, the shift of CDK4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6i) from advanced to early setting reported positive outcomes, with favorable results from MonarchE and NATALEE trials, using Abemaciclib and Ribociclib respectively, even if non-negligible toxicities have been reported. Last, the use of PARP inhibitors for BRCA1/2 mutated patients has been evaluated in the OlympiA trial (Olaparib), observing a comparable benefit between hormone-receptors-positive and triple-negative early breast cancer.However, more data are still required to better select patients that could benefit more from CDK4/6i considering side effects too, and sequential treatments are still not codified.

Hormone Receptor-Positive/HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Hormone Therapy and Anti-HER2 Treatment: An Update on Treatment Strategies

Hormone receptor (HR)-positive/HER2-positive breast cancer represents a distinct subtype expressing estrogen and progesterone receptors with an overexpression of HER2. Approximately 14% of female breast cancer cases are HER2-positive, with the majority being HR-positive. These tumors show a cross-talk between the hormonal and HER2 pathways; the interaction has implications for the treatment options for the disease. In this review, we analyze the biology of HR-positive/HER2-positive breast cancer and summarize the evidence concerning the standard of care options both in neoadjuvant/adjuvant settings and in advanced disease. Additionally, we focus on new trials and drugs for HR-positive/HER2-positive breast cancer and the new entity: HER2-low breast cancer.

Expert UK consensus on the definition of high risk of recurrence in HER2-negative early breast cancer: A modified Delphi panel

BACKGROUND

There is currently no standardised definition for patients at high risk of recurrence of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative early breast cancer (eBC; stages 1-3) after surgery. This modified Delphi panel aimed to establish expert UK consensus on this definition, separately considering hormone receptor (HR)-positive and triple-negative (TN) patients.

METHODS

Over three consecutive rounds, results were collected from 29, 24 and 22 UK senior breast cancer oncologists and surgeons, respectively. The first round aimed to determine key risk factors in each patient subgroup; subsequent rounds aimed to establish appropriate risk thresholds. Consensus was pre-defined as ≥70% of respondents.

RESULTS

Expert consensus was achieved on need to assess age, tumour size, tumour grade, number of positive lymph nodes, inflammatory breast cancer and risk prediction tools in all HER2-negative patients. There was additional agreement on use of tumour profiling tests and biomarkers in HR-positive patients, and pathologic complete response (pCR) status in TN patients. Thresholds for high recurrence risk were subsequently agreed. In HR-positive patients, these included age <35 years, tumour size >5 cm (as independent risk factors); tumour grade 3 (independently and combined with other high-risk factors); number of positive nodes ≥4 (independently) and ≥1 (combined). For TN patients, the following thresholds reached consensus, both independently and in combination with other factors: tumour size >2 cm, tumour grade 3, number of positive nodes ≥1.

CONCLUSIONS

The results may be a valuable reference point to guide recurrence risk assessment and decision-making after surgery in the HER2-negative eBC population.