Lan G. Coffman, MD, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical (UPMC) Center Hillman Cancer Center, discusses the role of targeted therapy in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

The development of targeted therapy in TNBC took some time, says Coffman. Until recently, chemotherapy was the mainstay treatment option. However, targeted therapies, such as PARP inhibitors, were thought to have utility in TNBC because the disease is enriched with 

 mutations in TNBC prevent DNA damage repair, which PARP inhibitors can capitalize on. 

Additionally, the TROP-2 directed antibody-drug conjugate sacituzumab govitecan-hziy (Trodelvy) was approved in April 2020 for the treatment of patients with metastatic TNBC who have received at least 2 prior therapies for metastatic disease. TROP-2 is a protein expressed on the surface of many TNBC cells, concludes Coffman.

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Lan G. Coffman, MD, PhD, discusses the role of targeted therapy in triple-negative breast cancer.  



Dr. Coffman on the Role of Targeted Therapy in TNBC 

Lan G. Coffman, MD, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical (UPMC) Center Hillman Cancer Center, discusses safety concerns with PARP inhibitors in ovarian cancer.

One of the main concerns of combining cytotoxic chemotherapy with PARP inhibitors as frontline maintenance therapy is the potential for increased myelosuppression, says Coffman. If patients cannot tolerate chemotherapy due to the increase in myelosuppression, they could be deprived of an overall survival benefit.

Additionally, there is concern that the combination could increase the risk of leukemic transformation as a result of increased DNA damage. However, further research is being done to see whether these concerns outweigh the potential benefits of treatment, concludes Coffman.

Lan G. Coffman, MD, PhD

Articles

Dr. Coffman on the Role of Targeted Therapy in TNBC

Dr. Coffman on Safety Concerns With PARP Inhibitors in Ovarian Cancer