FDA Approvals Change Practice for Metastatic Breast Cancer With PIK3CA Mutations

Recent advances in hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer have led to questions about the timing of genetic testing and the optimal treatment choices for patients. “I, like many others, have changed my personal practice,” says Azka Ali, MD, a medical oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute in Ohio. She and Robert A. Figlin, MD, the Steven Spielberg Family Chair in Hematology-Oncology at the Cedars-Sinai Cancer Center in Los Angeles, discuss what newly approved medications for patients with PIK3CA mutations mean for oncologists. “I think the breast cancer landscape is changing faster than we can all keep up with it,” Dr. Ali explains. She breaks down current genetic testing concerns and how she approaches treatment decisions that sometimes take place in a “data-free zone.”

Dr. Ali reported no relevant financial disclosures.

Dr. Figlin reported various financial relationships.