Predictors of therapeutic and adverse effects of medicines used in the treatment of breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in women and the second most common cancer overall. There were over 2 million new cases in 2018. There are many important medicines used in the treatment of breast cancer. However, response and toxicity to many therapies is highly unpredictable. For example, over half the eligible patients do not respond to anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) targeted therapy when used in the treatment of advanced breast cancer. Thus, more research is required to confirm and explore novel predictive markers of therapeutic and adverse effects of medicines used in the treatment of breast cancer.
Using the diverse range of data collected from clinical trials, it is possible to develop clinical tools that enable improved prediction of therapeutic and adverse outcomes of patients using medicines in the treatment of breast cancer. Being able to identify the expected response and adverse effect profile may enable patients and clinicians to make better decisions regarding whether to commence, continue, discontinue or change dosing of medicines used in the treatment of breast cancer.