A new guideline on identifying optimal chemotherapy and targeted therapy for women with human epidermal growth factor 2–negative or unknown advanced breast cancer has been released by the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Endocrine therapy is preferable to chemotherapy as first-line treatment for patients with estrogen receptor–positive metastatic breast cancer unless improvement is medically necessary. Single-agent is preferable to combination chemotherapy, and longer planned duration improves outcome but must be balanced against toxicity. There is no single optimal first-line or subsequent-line chemotherapy, and choice of treatment will be determined by multiple factors including prior therapy, toxicity, performance status, comorbid conditions, and patient preference. The role of bevacizumab remains controversial. Other targeted therapies have not been shown to enhance chemotherapy outcomes in HER2-negative breast cancer, the researchers said.
The full guideline can be found on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality website.