VIDEO: Updates in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer presented at SABCS
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In this video, Angela DeMichele, MD, MSCE, discusses presentations from the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium on estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer.
DeMichele, co-leader of the Breast Cancer Research Program and director of the Breast Cancer Clinical Trials Unit at Penn Medicine, discussed findings from the EMERALD study on the selective estrogen receptor degrader elacestrant among patients who showed resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors and other endocrine therapies.
She said findings on the SERD seemed “encouraging, and I’m looking forward to seeing the results from other SERDs in this area.”
Another study presented at the meeting assessed the CDK7 inhibitor samuraciclib. “This is another really important point within the G1S checkpoint of cell cycle progression that now could be targeted in addition to other CDKs, like CDK4/6,” she said. “And this also showed really impressive activity, appeared to be well-tolerated, and so this drug will also be one to watch.”
DeMichele also discussed a presentation on intrinsic tumor profiling from trials of ribociclib, which found that although patients had ER-positive breast cancer, some “actually had a basal subtype, meaning that the [underlying biology] of the cancer is different than what one would think seeing estrogen receptors.”
She added that these findings mean those estrogen receptors “are essentially a decoy, and they prevent us from seeing the true biology of these cancers. And it was clear that those cancers that are basal subtype do not benefit at all from a CDK4/6 inhibitor.”
DeMichele explained that this finding calls into question whether additional testing is needed to identify breast cancer subtypes.
She noted that while this particular subtype would only be found in “less than 10% of patients, it may be that really getting a better handle and a fuller view of the true biology of these tumors will help us do a better job of giving patients drugs that are truly going to work in their cancers.”
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