10/24/2007 - Webcast
Targeted Treatments for Breast Cancer

It is a really exciting time in cancer research as targeted therapies are showing very promising data. These constant improvements in medicine are giving patients a chance to live longer lives. Cancer researchers are working to target cancer cells and treat them with the least amount side effects. In early stage breast cancer, genomic profiling is being used to determine the risk of recurrence and whether the patient will benefit from particular therapies based on knowing the biology of the tumors that are present.

Scientists are getting a better understanding of how anti-estrogens are being used to target a subset of breast cancer and not necessarily all breast cancers. While these are major advancements, understanding what’s unique about each cancer makes for more effective treatments.

In this Patient Power program, Andrew Schorr and Dr. Julie Gralow, assistant professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Washington Medical Center and a breast medical oncologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, discuss targeted therapies in breast cancer. The discussion includes HER2, estrogen receptor, and VEGF blocking, as well as new ideas in how to treat specific biologies of a variety of breast cancers using genome-profiling assays. Dr. Gralow also gives clarifying details on a recent paper regarding the benefits of Taxol therapy in HER2 negative patients and describes research and clinical trials being done at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. She speaks about new combinations and dosages of chemotherapies and her own research in using osteoporosis drugs to prevent bone metastasis in breast cancer patients.

Guests: