Current Issues In Breast Cancer Management: HER2 Low Expression
With the advent of newer therapies and improved biomarker testing, management of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) aggressive breast cancer has improved and become increasingly individualized. As treatment strategies for managing unresectable and/or metastatic breast cancer have become increasingly complex, the need for healthcare providers to be kept up to date with the latest advances and treatment guidelines has also grown. Meanwhile, a third of breast cancer patients have low-level HER2 low-expression, for which no HER2- targeted agents are approved. Therefore, the number of therapeutic options available to this large portion of the patient population is extremely limited.
This activity, Current Issues In Breast Cancer Management: HER2 Low Expression, will provide clinicians with the most recent updates on managing HER2+/HER2 low-expression breast cancer. Clinicians managing unresectable and/or metastatic breast cancer will learn how to integrate newer treatment strategies and recognize the diagnostic and prognostic implications of HER2 expression to improve remission rates and reduce long-term toxicities among their patients with breast cancer.
Target Audience
The intended audiences for this educational initiative are oncologists, along with the rest of the multidisciplinary cancer care team involved in the management of patients with breast cancer.
Learning Objectives
This program is designed to address ACGME and NAM competencies, including delivering patient centered care and practicing evidence-based medicine.
At the conclusion of this activity, participants should be able to:
- Assess the latest clinical-trial data that highlight individualized treatment approaches for MBC based on HER2 protein expression levels
- Evaluate the safety and efficacy profiles of novel therapies for treating patients with HER2+/ HER2 low-expression breast cancer
Additional Information
SARA A. HURVITZ, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Director Breast Oncology Program
Division of Hematology/Oncology
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, is Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA); co-director of the Santa Monica-UCLA Outpatient Oncology Practice; Medical Director of the Clinical Research Unit of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA; and Director of Breast Oncology. Dr. Hurvitz earned her MD from the University of Southern California. She served internship/residency at UCLA 1999-2002, was Chief Resident of internal medicine 2003-2004 and completed a hematology-oncology fellowship at UCLA in 2006. Dr. Hurvitz earned board-certification in internal medicine, hematology, and medical oncology.
In the 14 years since joining the faculty at UCLA, Dr. Hurvitz has gained international recognition as an academic expert in breast oncology. She not only has an active clinical practice, but also has extensive experience designing and leading first-in-human through phase III clinical trials. She has served as UCLA principle investigator on over 50 interventional clinical trials, has been chair of six international and four national studies, on the steering committee for 15 international trials and on the Data Safety Monitoring Board for four studies of novel therapeutics. She has personally designed, co-written, obtained funding and completed multiple phase II and III clinical trials of novel targeted therapies (including “TRIO B07,” “KRISTINE” and “neoMONARCH”). She serves on the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program Programmatic Panel, is on the Scientific Committee for TRIO (Translational Research in Oncology, formerly “BCIRG,” an academic not-for-profit CRO), is on the editorial board for several peer-reviewed journals, including Journal of Clinical Oncology, and serves as a reviewer for numerous high impact medical journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, JAMA-Oncology, and Clinical Cancer Research. In addition to her expertise in the clinical development of novel therapeutics, Dr. Hurvitz also has been extensively involved in laboratory-based research. She has been awarded and successfully led and completed several government-funded basic science projects. Additionally, she co-directs the preclinical evaluation of novel targeted therapeutics for breast cancer in the UCLA-JCCC/Translational Oncology Research Laboratory (TORL). Dr. Hurvitz is committed to the translation of basic laboratory science into innovative clinical testing and the movement of important clinical questions into the laboratory. Her understanding of both bench and bedside makes her uniquely positioned to lead the successful translation of new discoveries into the clinical realm.
JOYCE O’SHAUGHNESSY, MD
Celebrating Women Chair in Breast Cancer Research
Baylor University Medical Center
Director, Breast Cancer Research Program
Texas Oncology
US Oncology
Dallas, TX
Joyce A. O’Shaughnessy, MD specializes in medical oncology with board certification in both internal medicine as well as medical oncology. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine with subspecialty certification in medical oncology.
Dr. O’Shaughnessy focuses on her practice and clinical research on breast cancer treatment. She is Director of Breast Cancer Research and at Baylor-Sammons Cancer Center and chair of Breast Cancer Research for The US Oncology Network. Dr. O’Shaughnessy received her M.D. from Yale University Medical School. Her internship and residency in internal medicine were completed at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1985. She concluded a fellowship in medical oncology at the National Cancer Institute in 1987 and was a Senior Investigator there until 1995.
Dr. O’Shaughnessy is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American College of Physicians, and Women in Cancer Research. She is the Associate Editor of Clinical Breast Cancer Journal and founder of The School of Breast Oncology.
Her research interests include genotype-phenotype correlations for high risk breast cancers and immunotherapy for triple negative breast cancer.
DISCLOSURES
Before the activity, all faculty and anyone who is in a position to have control over the content of this activity and their spouse/life partner will disclose the existence of any financial interest and/or relationship(s) they might have with any commercial interest producing healthcare goods/services to be discussed during their presentation(s): honoraria, expenses, grants, consulting roles, speakers bureau membership, stock ownership, or other special relationships. Presenters will inform participants of any off-label discussions. All identified conflicts of interest are thoroughly vetted by Penn State College of Medicine for fair balance, scientific objectivity of studies mentioned in the materials or used as the basis for content, and appropriateness of patient care recommendations.
Faculty Disclosures
The faculty reported the following relevant financial relationships that they or their spouse/partner have with commercial interests:
Sara A. Hurvitz, MD: Research: Ambrx, Amgen, Arvinas, Bayer, Daiichi-Sankyo, Dignitana, Genentech/Roche, GSK, Immunomedics, Lilly, Macrogenics, Novartis, OBI Pharma, Pfizer, Pieris, Puma Biotechnology, Radius, Sanofi, Seattle Genetics; Stock Ownership: NK Max
Joyce O’Shaughnessy, MD: Consultant/Advisory board: AbbVie Inc., Agendia, Amgen Biotechnology, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene Corporation, Eisai, Genentech, Genomic Health, GRAIL, Immunomedics, Heron Therapeautics, Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Jounce Therapeutics, Lilly, Merck, Myriad, Novartis, Ondonate Therapeutics, Pfizer, Puma Biotechnology, Prime Oncology, Roche, Seattle Genetics, Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Takeda
Non-faculty Content Contributors
Penn State faculty and staff involved in the development or review of this material have nothing to disclose. The following non-faculty content contributors and/or reviewers from Rockpointe also reported no relevant financial relationships that they or their spouse/partner have with commercial interests:
Chelsey Goins, PhD:Nothing to disclose
FDA DISCLOSURE
The contents of some CME/CE activities may contain discussions of non-approved or off-label uses of some agents mentioned. Please consult the prescribing information for full disclosure of approved uses.
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of Penn State College of Medicine and Rockpointe. Penn State College of Medicine is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
CREDIT DESIGNATION
The Penn State College of Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Information about CME credit for this activity is available by contacting Penn State at 717-531-6483 or [email protected]. Reference course #G6629-21-T.
Available Credit
- 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
This course is offered through Rockpointe. To take this course you will be redirected to Rockpointe's website. You must have an account with Rockpointe in order to complete this activity.
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