New treatments for lung mets?
Meet the Experts
Jennifer Griggs, M.D., M.P.H. is a medical oncologist specializing in the treatment of breast cancer, dedicated to developing programs that improve the well-being of women treated for breast cancer.
Question from Ceco: Are there any new and effective ways to diagnose and treat breast cancer which has metastasized to lung tissue beyond CT scans and chemotherapy?
- Answer —Jennifer Griggs, M.D., M.P.H.:
When undergoing treatment for Stage IV disease with metastasis to the lungs, your whole life can revolve around doctor’s appointments, waiting for test results, changing treatments, and searching for hope.
We have targeted therapies that indicate to me that we're getting smarter in treating cancer. So women whose tumors are positive for HER2 can be offered Herceptin and Tykerb. For women whose tumors are HER2-negative, there is some evidence that targeted therapies such as Avastin (chemical name: bevacizumab) may be helpful, but again, these are combined with chemotherapy.
It sounds as though your tumor is not ER-positive. For women whose tumors are positive for the estrogen receptor or progesterone receptor, hormonal therapies can also be used. These were really our first targeted therapies in any cancer, if you think about it. For women whose tumors are responsive only to chemotherapy, at this point we are optimistic about developing additional targeted therapies and chemotherapies that are better tolerated.
In addition, there is research being done on the use of very high doses of focused radiation to metastatic lesions in the lungs, for example. Usually radiation in this setting would be appropriate if someone had only a few areas of cancer.
The energy and commitment of breast cancer researchers is overwhelming and I tell my patients with Stage IV disease not to give up hope for better and smarter treatments. With the pace of scientific discovery in this day and age, I don't think that's false hope.
On December 19, 2007, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Updates from San Antonio 2007. Jennifer Griggs, M.D., M.P.H. answered your questions and shared the newest research presented at this year's San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.
A production of LiveWorld, Inc.
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.