Letter from the Editor

Dear Reader,

I hope you will enjoy our issue summing up the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), which took place last December 10-14.

Could we spare our patients surgery in case that high-performing imaging and biopsies confirm complete remissions? Can predictive gene assays totally replace clinical features in early breast cancer? Hormone replacement in post-menopausal women: is the ban about to be lifted? You will find very interesting studies talking about these questions in the following chapter.

Concerning treatment of active disease, you will find a second oral fluoropyrimidine, an oral taxane, pertuzumab joining the subcutaneous injectables, and new drugs for refractory metastatic HER2 breast cancers coming on the scene. The role of immunotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer has gained further evidence, now including early disease…

More? Take a little time and read our report. I sincerely hope you will find it instructive.

Yours sincerely,
Stefan Rauh

Biography
Dr Stefan Rauh is currently working as haemato-oncologist in the oncology department of Centre Hospitalier Emile Mayrisch, Esch, Luxembourg. He is mainly involved in clinical work but also in research and teaching activities and is interested in public policy and international cooperation projects in oncology. He is member of the ESMO Practicing Oncologist’s Working Group since 2011 (chair 2014-2018), member of the ESMO Public Policy Committee, and has been an ESMO Executive Board member in 2015-2016. He is co-author of the 2017 ESMO European Cancer Patient Coalition (ECPC) Patient Survivorship Guide and an invited expert for the ECPC.



Posted on 13 February 20205 August 2021