PRESENTER PROFILES

Clinical Controversies: Omission of Axillary Staging in ER-Positive Breast Cancer: Implications on Adjuvant Therapies

Thursday, December 12
2 – 3 p.m. CT
Stars at Night Ballroom 1-2

PRESENTER PROFILES

Clinical Controversies: Omission of Axillary Staging in ER-Positive Breast Cancer: Implications on Adjuvant Therapies

Thursday, December 12
2 – 3 p.m. CT
Stars at Night Ballroom 1-2

Presentation: Implications for Adjuvant Systemic Therapy

Kevin Kalinsky, MD, MS
Professor of Medicine,
Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University

What is your presentation about?
We discuss if patients are at risk if we do not know the extent of their axillary disease — are we undertreating them systemically as a result? In the presentation, we will discuss the following: a) Number of positive nodes informs risk; b) While the utility of genomic assays is not established in for those with four or more lymph nodes, chemotherapy is unlikely to benefit if lower risk biology; and c) CDK4/6 inhibitor utilization is not dependent on the number of positive nodes, especially after ribociclib approval.

How do you hope your presentation will impact breast cancer research, care, or advocacy?
This will help frame the conversation about the implications of doing less invasive surgery, especially as we will likely see more effective systemic therapies approved.

How did you get involved in this particular area of breast cancer research, care, or advocacy?
I have been involved in trials that have looked at the role of genomic assays for patients with lymph node positive breast cancer and implications on chemotherapy use.