Dr. Borgen on the Immuno-Oncology Clinical Trials in Breast Cancer

Patrick Borgen, MD, chair, Department of Surgery, Maimonides Medical Center, head, Brooklyn Breast Cancer Center, Maimonides Cancer Center, discusses the evolution of immuno-oncology clinical trials in breast cancer.

There are many clinical trials currently circulating in the breast cancer space with data that will be updated as soon as the next few months, Borgen says. Moreover, it is crucial for clinicians to emphasize to patients that they are being offered their best chance of a cure, long-term survival, and minimizing toxicities, Borgen explains.

Immuno-oncology is another exciting area that has developed over the last decade, where treatments have activated patients’ immune systems against their own breast cancer, Borgen continues. Various breakthroughs have allowed T-cells to identify cancer cells and attack them, Borgen says. These breakthroughs have allowed PD-1/ PD-L1–targeted drugs play a role in early-stage breast cancer, Borgen concludes.