Kelly E. McCann, MD, PhD

Kelly E. McCann, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor and breast medical oncologist at UCLA.

Articles

Looking to the Future: Emerging Therapeutic Approaches in HER2+ Breast Cancer

June 4th 2025

Panelists discuss how emerging developments in HER2-positive (HER2+) breast cancer treatment, including novel antibody-drug conjugates, bispecific antibodies, and cytotoxic-sparing regimens for hormone receptor+ (HR+)/HER2+ disease, are creating exciting new options for patients.

Clinical Insights Into Managing Heavily Pretreated HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer

May 28th 2025

Panelists discuss how they approach treatment beyond third-line therapy for HER2-positive (HER2+) metastatic breast cancer, considering factors such as prior therapies, residual toxicities, and patient preferences when selecting from multiple options.

Balancing Efficacy and Tolerability: Expert Insights Into Tucatinib Triplet Therapy for HER2+ Breast Cancer

May 28th 2025

Panelists discuss how they manage adverse effects of tucatinib-based therapy, particularly focusing on diarrhea and palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia from capecitabine, with practical dosing strategies to improve tolerability.

Dr McCann on the Biologic Heterogeneity Within HER2+ Breast Cancer

May 26th 2025

Kelly E. McCann, MD, PhD, discusses the biologic heterogeneity within HER2-positive breast cancer and highlights the clinical implications of HR status in this disease subset.

Patient-Centered Decisions and Evolving Treatment Landscape for HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer

May 23rd 2025

Panelists discuss how treatment decisions in later-line settings should incorporate clinical trials, patient preferences regarding quality of life, medication scheduling, financial considerations, and previous adverse effect experiences, while also addressing special considerations for brain metastases.

Tucatinib Combinations in HER2+ Breast Cancer: HER2CLIMB-02 and HER2CLIMB-05

May 21st 2025

Panelists discuss how the HER2CLIMB-02 and HER2CLIMB-05 trials might impact treatment sequencing, with particular interest in using tucatinib earlier in treatment to potentially prevent brain metastases.

Navigating Third-Line Treatment Options in HER2+ Breast Cancer: ADC or TKI

May 21st 2025

Panelists discuss how National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines inform third-line treatment options for HER2-positive (HER2+) metastatic breast cancer, with particular focus on the HER2CLIMB regimen (tucatinib, capecitabine, and trastuzumab) for patients with brain metastases.

Navigating the Data: Later-Line Systemic Therapies for HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer

May 16th 2025

Panelists discuss how fourth-line treatment options include margetuximab (which interacts better with the immune system), neratinib-capecitabine (an irreversible pan-HER inhibitor), and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with different payloads, though toxicity profiles must be considered.

Expert Insights on Third-Line Treatment Decisions for HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer

May 16th 2025

Panelists discuss how third-line treatment options after T-DXd progression include T-DM1 and the HER2CLIMB regimen (tucatinib-capecitabine-trastuzumab), with consideration of brain metastases as a key factor in treatment selection.

Clinical Insights on the Next Treatment Approach for Metastatic HER2+ Breast Cancer with Brain Metastasis

May 14th 2025

Panelists discuss how they would approach multiple brain metastases at initial metastatic diagnosis, debating the use of stereotactic radiosurgery vs systemic therapy with agents that cross the blood-brain barrier.

Forty-Seven-Year-Old Woman With Recurrent HER2+ Breast Cancer and Brain Metastases

May 14th 2025

Panelists discuss how they approach the case of a 47-year-old marketing executive with initially low-risk HER2-positive (HER2+) breast cancer who developed brain, liver, lung, and bone metastases shortly after completing adjuvant therapy.

Navigating Early-Line Treatment Options for HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer

May 9th 2025

Panelists discuss how the treatment landscape for early HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer has evolved, with taxane-pertuzumab-trastuzumab as first-line standard of care and T-DXd supplanting T-DM1 as the preferred second-line treatment.

HER2+ Breast Cancer Management: Navigating GnRH Agonist Choice and Patient Experience

May 9th 2025

Panelists discuss how different gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists like leuprolide and goserelin are equally efficacious for ovarian function suppression but differ in administration methods, needle size, and patient comfort.

Managing Brain Metastases in HER2+ Breast Cancer: Second-Line Treatment Decisions

May 7th 2025

Panelists discuss how the presence of brain metastases influences treatment decisions in HER2-positive (HER2+) breast cancer, highlighting the DESTINY-Breast12 trial demonstrating trastuzumab deruxtecan’s (T-DXd) efficacy in patients with brain metastases.

Expert Perspectives on Navigating Treatment-Related Adverse Events With T-DXd

May 7th 2025

Panelists discuss how they manage adverse effects of trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), particularly focusing on nausea, fatigue, and the critical monitoring needed for interstitial lung disease (ILD), with recommendations for prophylactic antiemetics and frequent imaging.

Clinical Insights Into Treatment Approach for Metastatic HER+ mBC Patient Case

April 30th 2025

Panelists discuss how they approach treatment sequencing for HER2-positive (HER2+) metastatic breast cancer (mBC) after progression on first-line therapy, including considerations for trastuzumab deruxtecan and the impressive results from the PATINA trial adding CDK4/6 inhibitors to maintenance therapy.

Clinical Scenario I: 52-year-old Woman With Recurrent Metastatic HER2+ Breast Cancer

April 30th 2025

Panelists discuss how a 52-year-old elementary school teacher diagnosed with HER2-positive (HER2+) breast cancer achieved pathologic complete response with neoadjuvant therapy but experienced metastasis 18 months after completing treatment, requiring first-line metastatic therapy.

Treatment Planning for HER2+ Breast Cancer: The Role of Ovarian Function Suppression

April 28th 2025

Panelists discuss how ovarian suppression combined with endocrine therapy shows benefits for premenopausal patients with triple-positive breast cancer, particularly in younger, high-risk populations.

Optimizing Therapy in HR+/HER2+ Breast Cancer: Balancing Endocrine, HER2-Targeted, and Chemotherapy Options

April 28th 2025

Panelists discuss how treatment strategies for triple-positive breast cancer (hormone receptor [HR] positive and HER2 positive) differ from those for hormone receptor–negative, HER2-positive disease, with emphasis on balancing endocrine therapy, HER2-targeted therapy, and chemotherapy.

Dr McCann on the Increasing Use of TKIs for HER2+ Breast Cancer Brain Metastases

April 7th 2025

Kelly E. McCann, MD, PhD, discusses the benefit of using TKI combinations for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer and brain metastases.