Article Type
Commentary
Published
The authors provide their view about the possible factors triggering clinical complexity, the key issues of clinical complexity and the related unmet needs in breast cancer.
Breast cancer, one of the most common malignancies worldwide, is an example of complex disease. Clinical complexity is an increasingly recognized feature of internal medicine and oncology patients, who are often characterized by multifaceted needs determined by both biological (i.e. intrinsic to patient or disease biology) and non-biological (i.e. socioeconomic, cultural, environmental and behavioural) factors. In this series, we try to provide a comprehensive view of breast cancer complexity from a clinical and molecular perspective, with the aim of improving our understanding of the disease and patient care.
Commentary
The authors provide their view about the possible factors triggering clinical complexity, the key issues of clinical complexity and the related unmet needs in breast cancer.
Original Research
In this real-life study, the authors aim to evaluate the prognostic role of variations in cancer antigen 15.3 (CA15.3) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels in patients with HR+/HER2− breast cancer treated with CDK4/6 inhibitors. The goal of this investigation is to consider whether it would be possible to use these markers as a monitoring tool to diagnose earlier, faster and in a more practical way.
Review
This is a critical narrative review focusing on HR+/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2–) de novo metastatic breast cancer in terms of genomic, biological, pathological, and clinical features and outcomes after systemic and locoregional treatments, outlining differences with recurrent metastatic breast cancer.
Original Research
This real-life study investigated the link between clinical complexity and quality of life of patients with HR+/HER2– advanced breast cancer treated with CDK4/6 inhibitors.