Following in the footsteps of SABCS 2022: top 12 advanced breast cancer studies that could change our clinical practice: A review

Abstract

A review of the data presented at the SABCS 2022 conference on the treatment of advanced breast cancer (metastatic breast cancer mBC) was conducted; 12 of the most exciting, creative, and significant randomized and population studies were identified, the results of which were reported at oral or poster sessions. For the first time, new and unique data on the treatment of HR+HER2-negative mBC from the following studies were presented: RIGHT Choice phase II randomized clinical study (combination endocrine therapy with ribociclib versus chemotherapy in aggressive disease, including visceral crisis), PACE study (combination endocrine therapy with palbociclib after disease progression on CDK4/6 inhibitors), and several studies on choosing the optimal treatment strategy for hormone-resistant breast cancer (CAPItello-291, EMERALD, SERENA-2, TROPiCS-02). A clear-cut favorite, trastuzumab deruxtecan, became available in treating pre-treated HER2+ mBC; at the SABCS 2022 conference, new data from a randomized phase III clinical trials (DESTINY-Breast 02 and 03) and two large real-world population analyses from Italy and Japan were presented. Among the studies on advanced triple-negative mBC, noteworthy are the results of two extraordinary phase II clinical studies, DORA and ALICE, which studied the effectiveness and safety of immunotherapy with unusual combinations (with olaparib in the DORA study and with immunomodulatory chemotherapy in the ALICE study).