Endocrine therapy for early breast cancer in the era of oral selective estrogen receptor degraders: challenges and future perspectives

Abstract

Purpose of review: Growth and survival of hormone receptor positive breast cancer cells are dependent on circulating hormones (e.g., estrogen and progesterone). Endocrine therapy improved outcomes in both early and advanced hormone receptor positive breast cancer. These treatments include drugs with different mechanisms of action, namely selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERM), aromatase inhibitors, and selective estrogen receptor degraders (SERDs). SERDs represent estrogen receptor antagonists, favoring its degradation and thus interfering with proliferation genes transcription and activation. Fulvestrant is the first approved SERD, administered intramuscularly for treating advanced breast cancer.

Recent findings: Oral SERDs have been tested to overcome the limitation of the intramuscular administration, and to increase SERD bioavailability. Recently, an oral SERD, Elacestrant, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for patients carrying an ESR1 mutation. In fact, oral SERDs seem to be effective in tumors harboring ESR1 mutations, a well known mechanism of resistance to endocrine therapy (especially aromatase inhibitors).

Summary: More recently, oral SERDs have been tested in patients with early hormone receptor positive breast cancer, although their impact on survival and in this curative setting compared to standard endocrine therapy still needs to be elucidated. The best timing and duration of SERD administration and specific biomarkers in (neo)adjuvant setting remain largely unknown.