Breast Cancers Overview

Overview of the breast-cancer space, including subtype hubs and shared cross-subtype topics

This section is the main breast-cancer hub.

It is organised by subtype, cross-subtype pages, and practical breast-cancer support resources.

Breast Cancer **Drug and brand names used on this site**

On this site, drug names usually appear as the generic name first, then the brand name in brackets.

Brand names can vary by country.

This glossary starts with the endocrine and ER-positive treatment names used most often across this section.

It also includes the main TNBC drug names used in the Triple-Negative pages.

CDK4/6 inhibitors

• Palbociclib — Ibrance (Pfizer). Used with endocrine therapy in HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer.

• Ribociclib — Kisqali (Novartis). A CDK4/6 inhibitor with strong overall-survival data alongside endocrine therapy.

• Abemaciclib — Verzenio (Eli Lilly). A CDK4/6 inhibitor given continuously, with overall-survival benefit in selected settings.

Aromatase inhibitors

• Anastrozole — Arimidex. An aromatase inhibitor that lowers estrogen production, mainly after menopause.

• Letrozole — Femara. A common first-line endocrine therapy in postmenopausal HR-positive disease.

• Exemestane — Aromasin. A steroidal aromatase inhibitor often used after non-steroidal AIs or with everolimus.

SERDs

• Fulvestrant — Faslodex. An injectable SERD that blocks and degrades the estrogen receptor.

• Elacestrant — Orserdu. An oral SERD used in ER-positive, HER2-negative, ESR1-mutated advanced or metastatic disease after prior endocrine therapy.

Other targeted therapies

• Alpelisib — Piqray. A PI3K-alpha inhibitor used with fulvestrant in PIK3CA-mutated, HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer after endocrine progression.

• Everolimus — Afinitor. An mTOR inhibitor used with exemestane in selected postmenopausal patients after prior aromatase inhibitors.

TNBC chemotherapy backbones

• Doxorubicin — Adriamycin and epirubicin — Ellence. Anthracyclines often paired with cyclophosphamide in early-stage TNBC.

• Paclitaxel — Taxol and docetaxel — Taxotere. Taxanes used in neoadjuvant, adjuvant, and metastatic settings.

• Carboplatin — Paraplatin and cisplatin — Platinol. Platinum drugs often considered in TNBC, especially with BRCA1/2 or broader HRD context.

TNBC immunotherapy

• Pembrolizumab — Keytruda. A PD-1 inhibitor used with chemotherapy in selected high-risk early-stage and PD-L1-positive metastatic TNBC.

TNBC PARP inhibitors

• Olaparib — Lynparza. Used in selected gBRCA1/2-mutated, HER2-negative breast cancer settings.

• Talazoparib — Talzenna. Another PARP inhibitor used in metastatic HER2-negative disease with germline BRCA variants.

TNBC antibody-drug conjugates

• Sacituzumab govitecan — Trodelvy. A TROP2-directed ADC used in previously treated metastatic TNBC.

Subtypes

• HER2-Positive

• ER-Positive / HER2-Negative

• AR+/ER+ Breast Cancer

• Triple-Positive

• Triple-Negative

Shared topics and project hubs

• Endocrine Therapy, Stable Disease, and Dormancy in ER-Positive Breast Cancer: Focused explainer on why endocrine therapy can help hold ER-positive disease quiet for years, and why late dormancy escape can still happen.

• Autophagy Escape in ER-Positive Breast Cancer: Why mTOR pressure, glycolysis, dormancy, PI3K inhibition, and hydroxychloroquine come up in ER-positive/HER2-negative disease, with or without known TP53 status.

• Support Groups: Breast cancer support groups that are not subtype-specific. Sub-type-specific support groups are found in their specific hubs.

• Breast Cancer Pathways Project Free worksheet downloads, access guidance, and breast cancer pathways-based information for structured protocol design discussions with your team.

Support Threads and Google Docs

This quick list keeps the broader breast-cancer external resources easy to find.

• 📄 = Google Doc link

• 💬 = Facebook group discussion thread link

Facebook links work for members of the Healing Cancer Study Support Group who are signed into Facebook on their device.

• 💬 Male Breast Cancer

• 💬 Oral Vit C and Breast Cancer

• 📄 Radiation Post-First-Line-Chemo in Breast Cancer Doc

• 📄 Bone Mets - Our Group's Toolkit Free Doc

• 💬 Collagen When Healing Breast Cancer

• 💬 Lobular Carcinoma - Invasive Pleomorphic

• 💬 Iodine Resources for Breast Tissue Healing

Cross-subtype pages - soon to land

These pages below are in progress. Please bookmark the space holder landing page and check back in a few days.

Biology and treatment questions

• Post-Chemotherapy Cell Senescence Clean-up

• Dormant Cancer Cells: How to Erase Them

• Radiation Post-First-Line Chemo? 2025 Summary

Adjuncts and cautions

• Lactoferrin Warning in Breast Cancer

• Collagen When Healing Breast Cancer

Metastatic and support resources

• Metastatic Disease Support

• Support Threads & Docs

How to explore this section

1. Start with the subtype that best matches the current disease context.

2. Use the cross-subtype pages for questions that cut across subtypes.

3. Use support-group and project pages for downloads, pathways tools, practical resources, and community links.

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This information is for education only. It is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please speak with a qualified clinician before making changes to care, medication, or supplement use.

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