The 2023 ASCO meeting again featured several ground-breaking presentations in the field of breast cancer (BC). Early-stage highlights include the long-awaited data of the NATALEE trial assessing adjuvant ribociclib in combination with endocrine therapy (ET) and the PHERGain trial exploring chemotherapy de-escalation using 18F-FDF PET/CT metabolic response assessment. Other studies discussed new molecular biomarkers for recurrence and response, and the impact of ET timing intake on outcomes. Finally, flibanserin was shown to be effective in countering sexual dysfunction in BC patients receiving adjuvant ET. In the metastatic setting, the SONIA trial questioned the universal use of CDK4/6 inhibitors in the first line treatment of patients with hormone-receptor (HR) positive metastatic BC. Furthermore, a pooled analysis of the DESTINY-Breast01, -02, and -03 trials reaffirmed trastuzumab deruxtecan as an effective treatment option for patients across all age subgroups in HER2-positive BC. Finally, a less toxic capecitabine regimen emerged as an alternative to standard treatment in metastatic BC. These results, along with other important findings, are summarised in this report. We would like to acknowledge Prof. Hans Wildiers and Prof. Patrick Neven (University Hospitals Leuven) for their help in selecting the abstracts and adding a clinical interpretation to this overview.
(BELG J MED ONCOL 2021;15(5):193–201)
