Instead, triple negative stage 4 breast cancer is usually treated with chemotherapy. They don’t overproduce the HER2 protein, so hormone therapy isn’t very effective. With this type of breast cancer, the breast cancer cells don’t have ER+ or PR+ receptors. Alpelisib is a “PI3K inhibitor” that should be administered in combination with the hormone treatment fulvestrant ( Faslodex). The FDA approved the oral drug alpelisib (Piqray) in 2019 for treating this specific type of breast cancer. This includes breast cancer.Ĭhemotherapy may not be effective for HER2-negative stage 4 breast cancer in women with a PIK3CA gene mutation because they’re less sensitive to chemotherapy drugs. If this gene is mutated, cells may replicate uncontrollably, causing various cancers. The PIK3CA gene produces the protein p110 alpha (p110α), which is essential for cell growth and other important functions. HER2-negative cancers in women with a PIK3CA gene mutation In 2018, the FDA approved the oral drug olaparib (Lynparza) for treating metastasized HER2-negative breast cancer in women with a BRCA gene mutation. This results in the gene no longer being as effective at preventing breast cancer. With a mutation, the gene can no longer suppress growth of cells with damaged DNA. A BRCA (an abbreviation for BReast CAncer) gene mutation is caused by damage to the DNA that makes up the gene. HER2-negative breast cancer doesn’t have a high amount of HER2 proteins. HER2-negative cancers in women with a BRCA gene mutation With HER2-positive breast cancer, there are abnormally high levels of HER2 proteins, causing cancer cells to quickly grow and spread.Īlong with chemotherapy, this type of stage 4 breast cancer is often treated with the targeted drug trastuzumab (Herceptin), a manmade antibody that attaches to the HER2 protein on cancer cells and prevents it from growing. Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a protein on the surface of breast cells. This type of stage 4 breast cancer doesn’t have ER+ or PR+ receptors, so hormone therapy drugs don’t work.Ĭhemotherapy may be more effective for hormone receptor-negative breast cancer than for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Hormone receptor-positive breast cancer is usually treated with hormone therapy drugs that block estrogen receptors (like Tamoflexin) or that lower estrogen levels (aromatase inhibitors like letrozole) in your body.
It may instead have cancer cells with progesterone receptors called PR-positive (PR+), or it may have both. This type of cancer has cells with estrogen receptors, which are proteins that can attach to some substances in your blood, that are known as ER-positive (or ER+). The following are the common treatment options for different types of stage 4 breast cancer. In some cases, surgery or radiation therapy may be used to treat stage 4 breast cancer. immunotherapy, which uses drugs that stimulate your immune system to destroy cancer cells.chemotherapy, where drugs given orally or through an IV travel through your bloodstream to fight cancer cells.hormone therapy, which stops or slows the growth of tumors by preventing your body from producing hormones or interfering with the effect of hormones on breast cancer cells.The main treatments for stage 4 breast cancer are targeted drug (systemic) therapies that destroy cancer cells wherever they are in your body.
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