BJMO - 2023, issue SABCS, congress news 2023
J. Blokken PhD, PharmD
About 60% of breast cancers traditionally categorised as HER2-negative in fact express low levels of HER2 (defined as tumours with HER2 IHC expression 1+ or 2+ without HER2 gene amplification). Last year, the DESTINY-Breast04 trial demonstrated notable efficacy of the HER2 antibody-drug conjugate trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), in patients whose tumours are not conventionally HER2+, but defined as HER2-low. As a result, HER2-low has become a clinically relevant HER2 status among patients with breast cancer, warranting a better understanding of this disease entity. As such, it was no surprise to see that at SABCS 2022, a special session was entirely devoted to HER2-low disease. Below, some key presentations of this session are summarized.
Read moreBJMO - 2023, issue SABCS, congress news 2023
J. Blokken PhD, PharmD, T. Feys MBA, MSc
During SABCS 2022, several abstracts were dedicated to advances in local therapy for patients with earlystage breast cancer (BC). A first trial assessed the impact of breast conserving therapy on local recurrence in patients with multiple ipsilateral BC. Next, the OPBC-04/EUBREAST-06/OMA study evaluated the oncological outcomes following sentinel lymph node biopsy or targeted axillary dissection after downstaging with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. In addition to this, POLAR was identified as a genomic classifier that is not only prognostic for locoregional recurrence but also predictive for a benefit of radiotherapy. Finally, hypofractionated regimens of radiotherapy were studied
Read moreBJMO - 2023, issue SABCS, congress news 2023
T. Feys MBA, MSc
This final article discussing highlights from SABCS 2022 summarizes some of the presentations that did not fit in the categories discussed earlier. This summary will address the results of three clinical trials evaluating neoadjuvant treatment strategies in HER2-negative early breast cancer together with the data from the POSITIVE trial, evaluating the safety of interrupting endocrine therapy to facilitate pregnancy panning in younger women with breast cancer.
Read moreBJMO - 2023, issue BSMO Special, february 2023
J. Blokken PhD, PharmD, T. Feys MBA, MSc
In line with the tradition, the 2023 annual BSMO meeting kicked off with a session from the Breast Cancer Task Force. Prof. Evandro de Azambuja (Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels) opened the session with a lecture on the extended use of adjuvant endocrine therapy and the impact of recent insights on clinical practice. Thereafter, Dr. Donatienne Taylor (Clinique Sainte-Elisabeth CHU UCL Namur, Namur) discussed the antibodydrug conjugate landscape in advanced breast cancer. Finally, Dr. Caroline Duhem (Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Luxemburg) shared her knowledge and experiences with the emerging adjuvant treatment escalation options in early HR+/HER2- breast cancer
Read moreBJMO - 2023, issue BSMO Special, february 2023
J. Blokken PhD, PharmD, T. Feys MBA, MSc
In the session on political and economic issues in oncology, Dr. Jeroen Mebis from the Jessa Hospital in Hasselt gave an overview on oncological nomenclature. In his talk, he discussed the relevant nomenclature numbers in daily clinical practice and shared his knowledge on hospital financing. Subsequently, Dr. Johan Kips (representative of the Minister of Social Affairs and Health Frank Vandenbroucke) discussed the legal and medical parameters for network formation in oncological treatment. Mattias Neyt (Senior health economist at the Belgian Health Care Knowledge Centre) closed the session with some insights into the new health technology assessment collaboration at a European level.
Read moreBJMO - 2023, issue BSMO Special, february 2023
J. Blokken PhD, PharmD, T. Feys MBA, MSc
The second day of the 2023 annual BSMO meeting kicked off with a session from the supportive care task force. First, Dr. Fontaine (UZ Brussel, Brussels) and Prof. Klastersky (Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels) organised an interactive session on the proposal of a new multidisciplinary oncology consultation for supportive care. Thereafter, Dr. Fontaine presented the results of the Belgian pain survey. Finally, Dr. Gabry Kuijten presented the aim and achievements of the My Cancer Navigator initiative by the Anticancer Fund.
Read moreBJMO - 2023, issue BSMO Special, february 2023
A. Enguita PhD, T. Feys MBA, MSc
Cancer is classically conceived as a genetic disease caused by somatic mutations acquired during life. In the last years, this has fuelled research efforts into the characterization of activating mutations in different tumour types. However, apart from knowing the activating mutation, other factors are also important in the development and optimization of an effective personalised treatment. During the 25th annual Belgian Society of Medical Oncology (BSMO) meeting 2023, Dr. Luc Dirix (GZA hospital, Belgium) discussed the significance of somatic mutations in normal tissues and their effect on cancer, with a special focus on clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP). Additionally, Dr. Dirix addressed the topic of cellular plasticity, which plays a fundamental role in cancer development.
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