ESMO 2019 Coverage

Moderators

Every year, the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress brings together clinicians, researchers, and advocates to discuss the latest cancer study results. We're proud to present our coverage below.

Moderators

Where Are We With Immunotherapy for Breast Cancer? ESMO 2019 Coverage

September 27, 2019

Dr. Jennifer Litton is a board certified medical oncologist and professor of breast medical oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where she is chief of the Section of Clinical Research and Drug Development for Breast Cancer. She also is a member of the Breast Immuno-Oncology Task Force of the National Cancer Institute.

At the European Society for Medical Oncology 2019 Congress, she presented information on a study she's leading, looking at combining a new type of immunotherapy with a traditional chemotherapy medicine. She joined us to talk about current immunotherapy research for breast cancer in general as well as what is specifically being presented at the congress.

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Litton discuss:

• why immunotherapy medicines to treat breast cancer will likely be used with another type of therapy, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy
• the difference between a "hot" and "cold" tumor and why that is important for immunotherapy
• other biomarkers besides PD-L1 that may help doctors decided if an immunotherapy medicine will work

Running time: 16:50

Listen to the podcast now or read the transcript.

Moderators

People Satisfied With Decision to Use Scalp Cooling, Even If It's Not Effective -- Heard in the Halls: Voices From ESMO 2019

September 28, 2019

Dr. Conleth Murphy, an oncologist at Bon Secours Cork Cancer Center in Ireland, discusses his research on scalp cooling in people being treated with chemotherapy for cancer.

Running time: 2:58

Listen now to the podcast or read the transcript.

Moderators

Immunotherapy to Treat Metastatic HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: ESMO 2019 Coverage

September 29, 2019

Dr. Leisha Emens is professor of medicine in hematology/oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Hillman Cancer Center. She is also co-leader of the Hillman Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program and director of translational immunotherapy for the Women's Cancer Research Center. She is internationally recognized for her work in breast cancer immunotherapy.

At the European Society for Medical Oncology 2019 Congress, she presented overall survival results from the KATE2 study, which compared using the combination of Tecentriq, also called atezolizumab, and Kadcyla, also called T-DM1, to Kadcyla alone to treat HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer that had grown while being treated with Herceptin and chemotherapy.

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Emens discuss:

• the design of the KATE2 study
• why the study is encouraging, even though it didn't meet its primary endpoint
• what the results mean for people diagnosed with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer
• her advice to people diagnosed with breast cancer who are interested in immunotherapy

Running time: 10:04

Listen to the podcast now or read the transcript.

Moderators

Immunotherapy Keytruda for Early-Stage Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Better pCR and Lower Recurrence Rates: ESMO 2019 Coverage

September 29, 2019

Dr. Peter Schmid is chair in cancer medicine at Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University London and also serves as clinical director of the Breast Cancer Centre at the St. Bartholomew Cancer Centre and honorary consultant medical oncologist at Barts Hospital. His research focuses on breast cancer, cancer immune therapy, and early drug development.

At the European Society for Medical Oncology 2019 Congress, he presented results from the KEYNOTE-522 study showing that the combination of the immunotherapy Keytruda (chemical name: pembrolizumab) and chemotherapy before surgery to remove early-stage triple-negative breast cancer led to a better pathologic complete response than chemotherapy alone. This is the first phase III study using immunotherapy to treat early-stage breast cancer.

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Schmid discuss:

• the design of the KEYNOTE-522 study
• side effects related to both chemotherapy and Keytruda
• what these results mean for patients

Running time: 9:27

Listen to the podcast now or read the transcript.

Moderators

"CDK4/6 Inhibitor Plus Hormonal Therapy Should Be First Treatment for Metastatic Hormone-Receptor-Positive, HER2-Negative Breast Cancer" ESMO 2019 Coverage

September 29, 2019

Dr. Dennis Slamon is professor of medicine and executive vice chair for research for the UCLA Department of Medicine. He also serves as director of clinical/translational research and director of the Revlon/UCLA Women's Cancer Research Program at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA. He is probably best known for doing the laboratory and clinical research that led to the development of Herceptin, the first medicine to specifically treat HER2-positive breast cancer. Dr. Slamon has won numerous awards for his research. Earlier this month, he received the 2019 Lasker Award for clinical medical research for his groundbreaking work on Herceptin.

At the European Society for Medical Oncology 2019 Congress, he presented overall survival results from the MONALEESA-3 study, looking at using the CDK4/6 inhibitor Kisqali (chemical name: ribociclib) plus the hormonal therapy Faslodex (chemical name: fulvestrant) to treat advanced-stage, hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Slamon explain:

• the background of the MONALEESA-3 study
• how much adding Kisqali to Faslodex improved overall survival compared to Faslodex alone
• treatment side effects seen in the study
• what the results mean for people diagnosed with metastatic hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer

Running time: 9:10

Listen to the podcast now or read the transcript.

Moderators

Breast Cancer Research Highlights -- Heard in the Halls: Voices From ESMO 2019

September 29, 2019

Anne White, president of Lilly Oncology, discusses some of the most talked about breast cancer research presented at ESMO 2019.

Running time: 10:40

Listen to the podcast now or read the transcript.

Moderators

Verzenio Plus Faslodex Improves Survival in Metastatic Hormone-Receptor-Positive, HER2-Negative Breast Cancer, Regardless of Menopausal Status

September 29, 2019

Dr. George Sledge is professor of medicine and head of the Oncology Division at Stanford University. A former president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, he specializes in breast cancer research. He has published extensively on the treatment of metastatic breast cancer and has been honored with numerous awards for his work.

At the European Society for Medical Oncology 2019 Congress, he presented overall survival results from the MONARCH 2 study, which used Verzenio (chemical name: abemaciclib) and Faslodex (chemical name: fulvestrant) to treat metastatic hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer that was previously treated with hormonal therapy and had stopped responding. The women in the study were premenopausal, perimenopausal, or postmenopausal.

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Sledge explain:

• the background of the MONARCH 2 study
• how much overall survival was improved
• the side effects seen in the study
• what the results mean for people diagnosed with metastatic hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer

Running time: 6:45

LIsten to the podcast now or read the transcript.

Moderators

Verzenio Plus Faslodex Improves Overall Survival by 9 Months in Advanced-Stage, Hormone-Receptor-Positive, HER2-Negative Breast Cancer
September 30, 2019
Latest results from MONARCH 2 study show adding Verzenio to Faslodex improves overall survival by 9 months for advanced-stage, hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. Read more...

Moderators

Kisqali Plus Faslodex Improves Overall Survival in Advanced-Stage, Hormone-Receptor-Positive, HER2-Negative Breast Cancer
October 2, 2019
Latest MONALEESA-3 results show Kisqali and Faslodex offer better overall survival than Faslodex alone in postmenopausal women diagnosed with advanced-stage, hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer that either hadn't been treated yet or had been treated with only one hormonal therapy. Read more...

Moderators

Adding Keytruda to Chemotherapy Before Surgery for Early-Stage, Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Improves Response to Treatment
October 2, 2019
The combination of the immunotherapy Keytruda and chemotherapy before surgery to remove early-stage, triple-negative breast cancer led to a better pathologic complete response than chemotherapy alone. Read more...