Abstract
Although the introduction of novel therapies and drug combinations has improved the prognosis of metastatic breast cancer, the disease remains incurable. Increased knowledge of the biology and the molecular alterations in breast cancer has facilitated the design of targeted therapies. These agents include receptor and nonreceptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (epidermal growth factor receptor family), intracellular signaling pathways (phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase, AKT, mammalian target of rapamycin) angiogenesis inhibitors and agents that interfere with DNA repair (poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors). In the present review, we present the most promising studies of these new targeted therapies and novel combinations of targeted therapies with cytotoxic agents.
Highlights
Current research in breast cancer is being guided by the discovery of multiple targets cells or tissues that have receptors for a particular hormone or drug
The primary end point of the study was progression-free survival (PFS), which was significantly improved in patients who received the combination of bevacizumab plus paclitaxel versus single-agent paclitaxel (11.8 vs. 5.9 months; hazard ratio (HR), 0.60; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.43 to 0.62; P ≤0.001) (Figure 1)
The most recent major contribution to the treatment of breast cancer has not been a technical or pharmacological revolution, but rather a transformation in the way we think about the disease and the treatment
Summary
Current research in breast cancer is being guided by the discovery of multiple targets cells or tissues that have receptors for a particular hormone or drug. A meta-analysis of 37 randomized trials, which included new drugs for breast cancer treatment, showed again that a combination of chemotherapeutic agents increased the response rate (odds ratio, 1.28; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.15 to 1.42; P
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