Advanced Breast Cancer Treatment and New Advances

  Individualized treatment of advanced breast cancer is mainly based on molecular typing. Patients with positive estrogen receptor (ER) and/or progesterone receptor (PR) are suitable for endocrine therapy, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive for anti-HER2 targeted therapy, and all patients can use chemotherapy. Here we briefly introduce the latest progress: endocrine therapy: the endocrine drugs commonly used in clinical practice as we all know are tamoxifen, anastrozole, letrozole, exemestane, and toremifene, which are all oral drugs, and fulvestrant, which entered the national medical insurance catalog in 2017.9, which is an injection. Currently, for hormone receptor-positive HER2-negative patients, the latest progress in treatment is endocrine therapy + targeted therapy, targeted therapy drugs are CDK4/6 inhibitors (Pfizer’s Paboxetine listed in China in 2018, currently self-funded), mTOR inhibitors (everolimus, no breast cancer indication in the drug specification, currently self-funded), HDAC inhibitors (cidarbenclamide, China (self-developed, expected to be available in 2019). CDK4/6 inhibitors from Novartis and Eli Lilly are currently available abroad and under clinical study in China, and CDK4/6 inhibitors developed independently in China are under clinical study.  Chemotherapy: the following classes of chemotherapy drugs are commonly used for breast cancer: anthracyclines (adriamycin, epi-amycin, liposomal doxorubicin), paclitaxel (paclitaxel CDK4/6 inhibitor, doxorubicin, liposomal paclitaxel, nanoalbumin paclitaxel), platinum (cisplatin, carboplatin, loplatin, etc.), vincristine, gemcitabine, capecitabine, and the latest progress is the clinical study of UTD-1 in 2018 completed (independently developed in China, expected to be marketed in 2019).  Anti-HER2 treatment: for many years, only two drugs trastuzumab and lapatinib (2017.9 into the national medical insurance catalog) have been listed in China, and in 2018.8 China’s independent research and development of anti-HER2 treatment drug pyrrolizumab is listed, and abroad there are also patalizumab (expected to be listed in China in 2019) and T-DM1. No product is currently available (the first product is expected to be available in 2019).  Immunotherapy: positive results were obtained in a phase III clinical study of the PDL1 inhibitor Atezolizumab for the treatment of breast cancer in 2018, and no breast cancer indication has been approved. clinical studies of PD1 inhibitors are ongoing, and no immunotherapeutic agents have been approved for breast cancer indications.  Anti-angiogenic drugs: bevacizumab is recommended in both NCCN guidelines and Chinese CSCO guidelines, there is no breast cancer indication in the drug specification, and apatinib (developed in China) has evidence-based medical evidence and no approved breast cancer indication.  The goal of treatment for advanced breast cancer is to use a combination of drugs and local therapies to strive for long-term survival while ensuring quality of life. May every patient achieve what they want.