"Long Haul for Breast Cancer Survivors: Disease Can Return After 20 Years" - Ann Pietrangelo

New research shows that long-term endocrine therapy can reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence but side effects keep some women from taking it.  Paula Klein, MD, associate professor of medicine, hematology and medical oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai says there were some caveats, including that this is a meta-analysis study on trials of women scheduled to receive five years of therapy, but it is unknown if they completed their therapy. “We do know there’s not an insignificant number of patients who are noncompliant,” Dr. Klein said.  Sarah P. Cate, Director of the Special Surveillance and Breast Program at Mount Sinai Downtown-Chelsea Center, said that this study won’t change current practices.  “Most practice-changing types of studies are those that are randomized and prospective. While this study is important, I don’t know that it’s presenting much different data than already presented in prior studies done in a randomized fashion,” said Dr. Cate.  Promising research from Mount Sinai researchers has identified a protein (PTK6) that promotes cell growth and survival in a number of cancers, including ER-positive breast cancer and those that are resistant to tamoxifen. The discovery could be a stepping stone to new targeted therapies says Hanna Irie, MD, PhD, assistant professor, medical oncology, oncological services, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

- Hanna Irie, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, Oncological Services, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Medical Oncologist, Dubin Breast Center, The Mount Sinai Hospital

- Paula Klein, MD, Associate Professor, Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

- Sarah Cate, MD, Assistant Professor, Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Breast Surgeon, Mount Sinai Downtown-Chelsea Center

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