Menopausal status may help to determine the clinical benefit derived from the addition of chemotherapy to endocrine therapy in women with hormone receptor (HR)–positive, HER2-negative, lymph node–positive breast cancer, who have a recurrence score between 0 and 25, according to a study presented at the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
Dr. Kevin Kalinsky, who is the acting associate professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine, director of the Glenn Family Breast Center and director of breast medical oncology at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, spoke to CURE® about what the trial results mean for patients.
Transcription:
So, this information really does empower patients. And it empowers every patient to be able to make a decision. So, if you (have a patient with) a tumor that has 123 (lymph) nodes involved, that's hormone receptor-positive and HER2 negative, and there's a potential benefit for checking this test. So, for postmenopausal women to determine, “Do I need chemotherapy or do I not?” And for the premenopausal women, there could be prognostic information that can be yielded from this test.
And it was the absolute benefit of getting chemotherapy. So, you know, we've moved beyond this kind of one-size-fits-all approach. And we're going to be increasingly making decisions based upon biology and that's where this study helps to continue to inform.
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