Functional decline in older breast cancer survivors treated with and without chemotherapy and non-cancer controls: results from the Hurria Older PatiEnts (HOPE) prospective study.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess whether physical functional decline in older women with early-stage breast cancer is driven by cancer, chemotherapy, or a combination of both.

Methods: We prospectively sampled three groups of women aged ≥ 65: 444 with early-stage breast cancer receiving chemotherapy (BC Chemo), 98 with early-stage breast cancer not receiving chemotherapy (BC Control), and 100 non-cancer controls (NC Control). Physical function was assessed at two timepoints (T1 [baseline] and T2 [3, 4, or 6 months]) using the Physical Functioning Subscale (PF-10) of the RAND 36-item Short Form.

Fulfilling the Role of a Parent While Undergoing Treatment for Cancer: A Review of the Literature and the Potential Impact of Childcare Support on Cancer Outcomes.

Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy among adolescents and young adults (AYAs). Despite the efficacy of chemotherapy, AYA patients contend with psychosocial challenges, including psychological distress and financial toxicity, exacerbated further by those with dependent children. Parenting responsibilities intersect with cancer care, impacting both family dynamics and treatment adherence.

Sequencing Antibody Drug Conjugates in Breast Cancer: Exploring Future Roles.

Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) have emerged as a highly effective treatment strategy across breast cancer (BC) subtypes, including human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2+), hormone-receptor positive (ER/PR+), and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Over the past twenty years, ADCs have undergone relevant evolutions, from target diversity to payload ratio, to linker design, allowing for a progressive increase in their efficacy. From the first-generation ADC, trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), approved in 2013 for HER2+ breast cancer, to next generation ADCs such as sacituzumab govitecan and trastuzumab deruxtecan, to emerging ADCs on the horizon, we continue to see unparalleled efficacy compared to traditional chemotherapy.

Evaluating Patient Experience in a Multidisciplinary Breast Cancer Clinic: A Prospective Study.

Multidisciplinary clinics (MDCs) are a care model in which patients see several physicians across specialties and/or other allied health professionals in a single appointment in a shared space. This study sought to better understand patients' experiences with breast cancer (BC) MDC. A total of 429 patients diagnosed with BC and seen in a MDC between November 2020 and November 2021 were invited to participate in a patient experience survey.

Falls prechemotherapy and toxicity-related hospitalization during adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer in older women: Results from the prospective multicenter HOPE trial.

Background: Older women with breast cancer frequently experience toxicity-related hospitalizations during adjuvant chemotherapy. Although the geriatric assessment can identify those at risk, its use in clinic remains limited. One simple, low-cost marker of vulnerability in older persons is fall history.

New Cardiac Abnormalities After Radiotherapy in Breast Cancer Patients Treated With Trastuzumab.

Purpose: To evaluate cardiac imaging abnormalities after modern radiotherapy and trastuzumab in breast cancer patients.

Patients And Methods: All patients treated with trastuzumab and radiotherapy for breast cancer between 2006 and 2014 with available cardiac imaging (echocardiogram or multigated acquisition scan) were retrospectively analyzed. Cardiac abnormalities included myocardial abnormalities (atrial or ventricular dilation, hypertrophy, hypokinesis, and impaired relaxation), decreased ejection fraction > 10%, and valvular abnormalities (thickening or stenosis of the valve leaflets).

Stromal ColXα1 expression correlates with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and predicts adjuvant therapy outcome in ER-positive/HER2-positive breast cancer.

Background: The breast cancer microenvironment contributes to tumor progression and response to chemotherapy. Previously, we reported that increased stromal Type X collagen α1 (ColXα1) and low TILs correlated with poor pathologic response to neoadjuvant therapy in estrogen receptor and HER2-positive (ER+/HER2+) breast cancer. Here, we investigate the relationship of ColXα1 and long-term outcome of ER+/HER2+ breast cancer patients in an adjuvant setting.

Identification of stromal ColXα1 and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes as putative predictive markers of neoadjuvant therapy in estrogen receptor-positive/HER2-positive breast cancer.

Background: The influence of the tumor microenvironment and tumor-stromal interactions on the heterogeneity of response within breast cancer subtypes have just begun to be explored. This study focuses on patients with estrogen receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (ER+/HER2+) breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy and HER2-targeted therapy (NAC+H), and was designed to identify novel predictive biomarkers by combining gene expression analysis and immunohistochemistry with pathologic response.

Methods: We performed gene expression profiling on pre-NAC+H tumor samples from responding (no or minimal residual disease at surgery) and non-responding patients.

Immune Signatures Following Single Dose Trastuzumab Predict Pathologic Response to PreoperativeTrastuzumab and Chemotherapy in HER2-Positive Early Breast Cancer.

Purpose: Recent data suggest that intrinsic subtype and immune cell infiltration may predict response to trastuzumab-based therapy. We studied the interaction between these factors, changes in immune signatures following brief exposure to trastuzumab, and achievement of pathologic complete response (pCR) to subsequent preoperative trastuzumab and chemotherapy in HER2-positive breast cancer.

Experimental Design: In patients enrolled on two multicenter trials (03-311 and 211B), tumor core biopsies were obtained at baseline and after brief exposure to single-agent trastuzumab or nab-paclitaxel.

Total Survivin and acetylated Survivin correlate with distinct molecular subtypes of breast cancer.

Global gene expression profiling studies led to the recent classification of breast cancer into 4 distinct molecular subtypes including luminal, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 enriched, basal like, and unclassified. Here, we used immunohistochemistry to evaluate expression of the antiapoptotic protein Survivin and its recently described acetylated form, Survivin acetyl129, in normal breast tissue and in 226 primary breast tumors of different molecular subtypes. Correlation of Survivin expression with molecular markers and its impact on patient outcomes were analyzed.

Frequent pathologic complete responses in aggressive stages II to III breast cancers with every-4-week carboplatin and weekly paclitaxel with or without trastuzumab: a Brown University Oncology Group Study.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant carboplatin and weekly paclitaxel +/- weekly trastuzumab in resectable and locally advanced breast cancer.

Patients And Methods: Women with stages IIA to IIIB disease received carboplatin dosed by six times the area under the curve every 4 weeks and paclitaxel 80 mg/m(2) weekly for 16 weeks, and weekly trastuzumab was added for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) -positive status. The primary end point was the pathologic complete response (pCR) rate, defined as the absence of invasive disease in the breast and axillary nodes.