DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE

Lynparza (Olaparib) showed long-term improvement in risk of death, invasive disease-free survival (IDFS), and distant disease-free survival (DDFS) at six years in patients with germline BRCA-mutated HER2-negative high-risk early breast cancer. The OlympiA Phase III trial data confirm Lynparza's clinically meaningful survival benefit, persisting in all subgroups, with reassuring toxicity and pregnancy data.

Ultra-sensitive ctDNA testing in HR-positive early breast cancer patients showed baseline ctDNA correlated with larger tumor size, endocrine therapy sensitivity, and higher RCB scores. Persistent ctDNA post-therapy linked to higher recurrence rates. The study, using Guardant Infinity platform, suggests ctDNA could provide insights into tumor burden and endocrine resistance mutations.

The PADMA study found endocrine therapy plus palbociclib improved time to treatment failure (17 months vs. 7.2 months) and progression-free survival (PFS) in HER2-negative/HR-positive metastatic breast cancer patients compared to mono chemotherapy. Overall survival also favored endocrine-based treatment by about 10 months. Toxicity was similar, with palbociclib showing higher hematologic toxicity and mono chemotherapy having more diarrhea and hand-foot syndrome. The study suggests chemotherapy has no role in first-line treatment for this patient group.

A randomized, double-blind phase 2 clinical trial by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigated if CBD reduces cancer-related anxiety in women with advanced breast cancer. CBD showed a stronger reduction in anxiety compared to placebo, though not statistically significant. CBD was safe with no serious side effects, warranting further exploration for cancer-related anxiety treatment.

The 21st IMS annual meeting in Rio de Janeiro discussed MRD testing, high-risk disease, CEPHEUS trial, and off-the-shelf CAR T-cell therapy. Topics included MRD testing's impact, defining high-risk myeloma, and the potential of allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy. CEPHEUS trial showed improved MRD negativity and PFS with daratumumab in myeloma treatment.

CLEAR biomarker analyses show Lenvatinib + Pembrolizumab (L+P) significantly improved efficacy over Sunitinib in advanced RCC. No associations found between PD-L1 levels, gene-signature scores, or molecular subtypes with PFS for L+P. Sunitinib showed shorter PFS with high proliferation and MYC signature scores, longer with high angiogenesis scores. Six new molecular subtypes defined, with no association to PFS for either treatment.

A study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Mass General Brigham found that while 400 mg of CBD did not significantly reduce anxiety in advanced breast cancer patients before scans, it did lower anxiety levels 2-to-4 hours after ingestion, suggesting its potential as an anxiety treatment.

Baseline ctDNA in HR-positive early breast cancer linked to larger tumor size and higher RCB scores. Persistent ctDNA post-neoadjuvant endocrine therapy correlated with higher recurrence rates. ctDNA dynamics during therapy may guide treatment decisions.

Weight loss via lifestyle intervention improved inflammatory markers in women with HER2-negative breast cancer, according to the Breast Cancer Weight Loss (BWEL) trial. The intervention led to a 5.7% weight loss at 1 year, significantly improving metabolic hormones and inflammatory biomarkers.

Real-world outcomes for elacestrant in ESR1-mutant HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer showed comparable or better time to treatment discontinuation and next treatment vs EMERALD trial PFS. Patients with PI3K pathway alterations had worse outcomes. Elacestrant efficacy remained consistent beyond second-line treatment, highlighting the need for precision medicine and combination treatments.