Korean J Med.  2009 Jul;77(1):26-34.

Personalized therapy for advanced breast cancer using molecular signatures

• Jung KH

Abstract

In Korea, breast cancer is the second common cancer in women and many patients suffer from metastatic disease after surgery and adjuvant therapy. Metastatic breast cancer is unlikely to be cured, but it is possible to choose therapeutic options according to clinical factors and tumor biology to avoid unnecessary toxicity and improve efficacy. Hormone receptors and HER2 status are the most important predictive factors and should be evaluated in all breast cancers. Hormonal treatment is preferred for initial treatment of hormone receptor positive metastatic breast cancer due to its more favorable side effect profile. Tamoxifen has been the mainstay of hormonal treatment. However, new aromatase inhibitors challenge tamoxifen as the first line therapy in postmenopausal women. Trastuzumab with conventional chemotherapy is the standard of care in patients with strong overexpression of HER2 and lapatinib is active after trastuzumab failure.

Keyword

Breast cancer; Metastasis; Therapy; Hormone; HER2

MeSH Terms

Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
Aromatase Inhibitors
Biology
Breast
Breast Neoplasms
Female
Humans
Korea
Neoplasm Metastasis
Quinazolines
Standard of Care
Tamoxifen
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
Aromatase Inhibitors
Quinazolines
Tamoxifen