🌸 Breast Cancer — 2026-W41

What this page is. Every paper the week's monitor reviewed — including the ones that did not go into the digest. Material marked “Not selected” was reviewed and deliberately left out. It has not been fact-checked to digest standard and is not endorsed. For the curated read, see the digest itself.

Phase 3 randomized trial in ER-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer progressing after CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy, published in NEJM. Giredestrant plus everolimus improved progression-free survival versus standard endocrine therapy plus everolimus, particularly in ESR1-mutated tumors, supporting a new post-CDK4/6i treatment option.

Randomized non-inferiority phase 3 trial in high-risk breast cancer after mastectomy, published in Lancet Oncology. Reports 10-year outcomes comparing hypofractionated with conventional postmastectomy radiotherapy, informing long-term safety and efficacy of the shorter schedule.

Retrospective SEER-Medicare cohort study in JAMA Network Open comparing palliative care, systemic therapy, and hospice utilization between Medicare Advantage and Traditional Medicare patients with advanced breast, colorectal, lung, pancreatic, or prostate cancer. Highlights insurance-network-related disparities in supportive care access that could inform practice organization, though it does not change treatment selection directly.

First-in-human phase 1 dose-escalation/expansion trial of a TROP2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate in heavily pretreated triple-negative breast cancer, published in European Journal of Cancer. Shows notable response rates and establishes a recommended phase 2 dose, supporting further development in refractory TNBC.

Phase 1 dose-escalation/expansion trial of the ATR inhibitor ceralasertib plus olaparib in advanced solid tumors, with expansion cohorts in BRCA-mutant and triple-negative breast cancer, published in Br J Cancer. Shows a meaningful response signal in PARP-inhibitor-naïve BRCA-mutant HER2-negative breast cancer, supporting further development of this combination to address PARPi resistance.

Commentary/opinion piece in Eur J Cancer questioning the necessity of the adjuvant pembrolizumab phase following the KEYNOTE-522 neoadjuvant regimen in stage II-III triple-negative breast cancer. Discusses lack of a second randomization, potential biomarkers, and toxicity/cost concerns, informing debate about de-escalation of adjuvant immunotherapy.

Secondary analysis of a randomized trial in breast cancer survivors, published in JNCI. Shows a 12-month exercise intervention slows epigenetic aging markers linked to cognitive decline, informing survivorship/lifestyle counseling rather than direct treatment decisions.

Prospective, single-arm trial in JCO assessing the false-negative rate of sentinel lymph node biopsy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced breast cancer with nodal complete response. Supports the feasibility of less invasive axillary staging in this high-risk population, informing surgical de-escalation decisions after systemic therapy.

Population-based registry analysis of US breast cancer mortality trends by estrogen receptor status over more than a decade, published in JNCI. Highlights that ER-positive breast cancer mortality has not declined as much as ER-negative disease despite effective therapies, pointing to a public-health gap rather than a specific treatment change.

Narrative review in Gynecol Oncol evaluating evidence quality for survival benefit of NCCN-recommended risk-reducing interventions (surgery, surveillance, medication) in BRCA1/2 carriers. Highlights that risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy has the strongest survival evidence, informing counseling and shared decision-making for high-risk patients.

Post-hoc safety analysis from the randomized phase 3 OptiTROP-Breast01 trial of sacituzumab tirumotecan in previously treated metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, published in Breast Cancer Research. Provides practical guidance on timing, management, and reversibility of key toxicities (hematologic, stomatitis) to inform dose modification strategies rather than new efficacy data.

Translational study with clinical cohorts and mouse models in ER+/HER2- breast cancer, published in J Immunother Cancer. Suggests ER signaling blunts chemoimmunotherapy response via HMGB1 SUMOylation, offering a rationale for combining endocrine therapy with chemoimmunotherapy that needs clinical testing.