J. Blokken PhD, PharmD

Journal Scan

In this section of the BJMO, we aim to provide a snapshot of pivotal studies published in recent issues of the most important international journals focusing on oncology. Importantly, the selection of the studies discussed here is the sole responsibility of the publisher and was not influenced by third parties. Do you miss an important study, or did you read a hidden jewel that deserves to be shared with your colleagues? Please, let us know (editor@bjmo.be) and we will make sure to include it in the journal scan section of the next BJMO issue.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2023;17(3):100–3)

Supportive care task force

The second day of the 2023 annual BSMO meeting kicked off with a session from the supportive care task force. First, Dr. Fontaine (UZ Brussel, Brussels) and Prof. Klastersky (Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels) organised an interactive session on the proposal of a new multidisciplinary oncology consultation for supportive care. Thereafter, Dr. Fontaine presented the results of the Belgian pain survey. Finally, Dr. Gabry Kuijten presented the aim and achievements of the My Cancer Navigator initiative by the Anticancer Fund.

Political and economic issues in oncology

In the session on political and economic issues in oncology, Dr. Jeroen Mebis from the Jessa Hospital in Hasselt gave an overview on oncological nomenclature. In his talk, he discussed the relevant nomenclature numbers in daily clinical practice and shared his knowledge on hospital financing. Subsequently, Dr. Johan Kips (representative of the Minister of Social Affairs and Health Frank Vandenbroucke) discussed the legal and medical parameters for network formation in oncological treatment. Mattias Neyt (Senior health economist at the Belgian Health Care Knowledge Centre) closed the session with some insights into the new health technology assessment collaboration at a European level.

Breast cancer task force

In line with the tradition, the 2023 annual BSMO meeting kicked off with a session from the Breast Cancer Task Force. Prof. Evandro de Azambuja (Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels) opened the session with a lecture on the extended use of adjuvant endocrine therapy and the impact of recent insights on clinical practice. Thereafter, Dr. Donatienne Taylor (Clinique Sainte-Elisabeth CHU UCL Namur, Namur) discussed the antibodydrug conjugate landscape in advanced breast cancer. Finally, Dr. Caroline Duhem (Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Luxemburg) shared her knowledge and experiences with the emerging adjuvant treatment escalation options in early HR+/HER2- breast cancer

Advances in local therapy for patients with early-stage breast cancer

During SABCS 2022, several abstracts were dedicated to advances in local therapy for patients with earlystage breast cancer (BC). A first trial assessed the impact of breast conserving therapy on local recurrence in patients with multiple ipsilateral BC. Next, the OPBC-04/EUBREAST-06/OMA study evaluated the oncological outcomes following sentinel lymph node biopsy or targeted axillary dissection after downstaging with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. In addition to this, POLAR was identified as a genomic classifier that is not only prognostic for locoregional recurrence but also predictive for a benefit of radiotherapy. Finally, hypofractionated regimens of radiotherapy were studied

HER2-low breast cancer: a separate entity?

About 60% of breast cancers traditionally categorised as HER2-negative in fact express low levels of HER2 (defined as tumours with HER2 IHC expression 1+ or 2+ without HER2 gene amplification). Last year, the DESTINY-Breast04 trial demonstrated notable efficacy of the HER2 antibody-drug conjugate trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), in patients whose tumours are not conventionally HER2+, but defined as HER2-low. As a result, HER2-low has become a clinically relevant HER2 status among patients with breast cancer, warranting a better understanding of this disease entity. As such, it was no surprise to see that at SABCS 2022, a special session was entirely devoted to HER2-low disease. Below, some key presentations of this session are summarized.

Highlights in HER2-positive breast cancer

For patients with early-stage Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer (BC), the most important data presented at SABCS 2022 consisted of the final results of the phase III PEONY study. Results of this trial add to the existing body of evidence demonstrating the benefit of the pertuzumabtrastuzumab-docetaxel regimen in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer (EBC). In the metastatic setting, trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) was once again the center of the attention with the presentation of data from the DESTINY-Breast02, DESTINY-Breast03 and ROSET-BM trials. Finally, several studies assessed the possibility of chemotherapy-free regimens for the treatment of HER2-positive, hormone receptor (HR)- positive metastatic BC.