New Targeted Therapies Make Breast Cancer Treatment Decisions “a Bit of a Moving Target”

“In breast cancer now, all of our treatment for hormone receptor–positive metastatic disease is a bit of a moving target because of new therapies that are available,” explains Hope S. Rugo, MD, division chief of breast medical oncology and the Women’s Cancers Program director at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, California. She discusses the “ever-changing” landscape involving the PI3 kinase/AKT/mTOR pathway with Robert A. Figlin, MD, the Steven Spielberg Family Chair in Hematology-Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Cancer in Los Angeles. Dr. Rugo details key considerations that she uses for decision making in practice. “And I think we just want to be cautious about toxicity for these patients and really know that we’re benefiting them, rather than using up treatments,” she explains.