Research summary
Studies include retrospective and prospective trials of breast cancer chemotherapy response, targeted-agent registration trials, and cancer-incidence projections. A retrospective analysis of 1,118 patients with stage I-III breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy at MD Anderson between 1985 and 2004 compared triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) versus non-TNBC for pathologic complete response (pCR) rates and survival, defining the response and recurrence pattern that characterizes TNBC [1]. A residual cancer burden (RCB) index combining primary-tumor size and cellularity with nodal-metastasis number and size was constructed from pathology of 382 patients across two cohorts (sequential paclitaxel-then-FAC and single-regimen FAC), and its multivariable association with distant relapse-free survival quantified [6]. The clinical course of 372 locally advanced breast cancer patients with complete pathologic primary-tumor and axillary-node response to doxorubicin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by mastectomy plus additional chemotherapy and radiotherapy was reported, characterizing patient and tumor features associated with pCR [7]. Gene-expression profiling of 82 breast cancers via Affymetrix U133A microarrays before preoperative paclitaxel-then-FAC chemotherapy tested whether luminal, basal-like, normal-like, and erbB2+ molecular subtypes respond differently to neoadjuvant therapy [4]. In hormone-receptor-positive advanced disease resistant to a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor, a phase 3 randomized trial in 724 postmenopausal patients compared everolimus plus exemestane against exemestane plus placebo (2:1) to test mTOR-pathway inhibition as a means to overcome endocrine resistance [2]. The MONALEESA-2 phase 3 trial of ribociclib plus letrozole in HR-positive/HER2-negative first-line advanced breast cancer reported 18-month progression-free survival of 63.0% versus 42.2% for placebo, and overall response 52.7% versus 37.1% in patients with measurable disease [3]. The HER2CLIMB trial randomized patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer previously treated with trastuzumab, pertuzumab, and trastuzumab emtansine (with or without brain metastases) to tucatinib or placebo in combination with trastuzumab and capecitabine, with progression-free survival in the first 480 patients as the primary endpoint [8]. SEER-based cancer-incidence projections to 2030 estimated the impact of demographic change in an aging, increasingly diverse US population on cancer burden [5].
Recent publications
- Response to Neoadjuvant Therapy and Long-Term Survival in Patients With Triple-Negative Breast CancerDOI
- Everolimus in Postmenopausal Hormone-Receptor–Positive Advanced Breast CancerDOI
- Ribociclib as First-Line Therapy for HR-Positive, Advanced Breast CancerDOI
- Breast Cancer Molecular Subtypes Respond Differently to Preoperative ChemotherapyDOI
- PTEN activation contributes to tumor inhibition by trastuzumab, and loss of PTEN predicts trastuzumab resistance in patientsDOI
- Future of Cancer Incidence in the United States: Burdens Upon an Aging, Changing NationDOI
- Measurement of Residual Breast Cancer Burden to Predict Survival After Neoadjuvant ChemotherapyDOI
- Prognostic and predictive value of the 21-gene recurrence score assay in postmenopausal women with node-positive, oestrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer on chemotherapy: a retrospective analysis of a randomised trialDOI
- Clinical Course of Breast Cancer Patients With Complete Pathologic Primary Tumor and Axillary Lymph Node Response to Doxorubicin-Based Neoadjuvant ChemotherapyDOI
- Tucatinib, Trastuzumab, and Capecitabine for HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast CancerDOI
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How to apply
Email Gabriel N. Hortobágyi 6-12 months before your application deadline. Read several recent papers and reference specific work in your message. Use our how to email a Japanese professor guide for the proven email structure.
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External profiles
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4873-4412
- OpenAlex: openalex.org
Profile compiled from public sources (Researchmap, OpenAlex, Hiroshima University faculty directory). Last refreshed 2026-05. Report incorrect information.