Dr. Formenti Discusses Immunology in Breast Cancer Treatment

Silvia Chiara Formenti, MD, chairman, Department of Radiation Oncology, Weill Cornell, associate director, Meyer Cancer Center, radiation oncologist-in-chief, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, discusses immunology in the breast cancer treatment landscape.

Over the last 20 years, progress in immunology has allowed for the development of drugs that can modify the immune system of a patient with cancer and facilitate the rejection of tumors. Concurrently, research regarding radiotherapy, surgery, and combination therapy has also evolved and become better understood in the landscape of breast cancer. These 2 parallel lines of research have converged, says Formenti, modifying the way that cancer is looked at today.

The target of a patient’s cancer is no longer just the tumor, but also the immune system. Formenti explains that by the time that most breast cancer is detected and diagnosed, the relationship between the host and the tumor has modified how the immune system recognizes that tumor.