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Will Sutent be used for triple-negative breast cancer?

Page last modified on: January 4, 2010

Question from Caryn: Pfizer was announcing something about Sutent being used for triple-negative breast cancer. What did they announce, and will the FDA approve its use for that purpose?: Answer —Kathy Miller, M.D.: Unless the announcement was just today I didn't see any new announcements about Sutent (chemical name: sunitinib) and triple-negative breast cancer. We did see the results of a phase III trial of Sutent as treatment for women with metastatic disease. That study required patients to have had previous chemotherapy with an anthracycline and a taxane, but it was not limited to patients with triple-negative disease. In that study, patients were treated either with Sutent or with an oral chemotherapy medicine called capcetabine, otherwise known as Xeloda. In that study, Xeloda was more effective, and because of that, the study was stopped early. We do know that Sutent can be effective for some women with breast cancer but in this study it was less effective than the other option. There are still other studies of Sutent that are going on, and one of those studies is focused on women with triple-negative disease, but that study is still going on, and we have not seen any results.

On Tuesday, December 15, 2009, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Updates from the 2009 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Kathy Miller, M.D. and Kristin Brill, M.D., F.A.C.S. answered your questions about the latest updates on breast cancer risk, screening techniques, treatment options, and more.

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.

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Meet the Experts

Kathy D. Miller, M.D. is associate professor of medical oncology at Indiana University, and a Sheila D. Ward Scholar.

Kristin Brill, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a breast surgeon and clinical instructor at the Thomas Jefferson University Department of Surgery in Philadelphia, PA. She also maintains a practice in Cherry Hill, N.J. Dr. Brill is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. In addition, she has published breast cancer research in medical journals such as Annals of Plastic Surgery and Cancer, and she has presented research at the American Society of Clinical Oncology.