What New Drugs, Biologics, and Treatment Approaches Show Promise in Breast Cancer?

A number of new agents are being developed concurrently, including cytotoxins, hormonal agents, and biologic approaches (Table). There are a number of new anthracyclines, particularly liposomal anthracyclines. There are ongoing clinical trials with liposomal daunorubicin and liposomal doxorubicin. At M.D. Anderson, we developed liposomal anamycin, which is a new anthracycline that is not a p-glycoprotein substrate; in the laboratory, it is effective in doxorubicin-resistant tumors. It is unclear whether liposomal daunorubicin or liposomal doxorubicin is more effective than doxorubicin. However, the pharmacokinetics and toxicity profiles of the agents certainly differ. Thus, these liposomal agents might create some opportunities for different combinations and scheduling.