Breast Cancer Briefing, hosted by Sara Nunnery, MD, MSCI, a breast medical oncologist and the director of Breast Cancer Research at Tennessee Oncology in Nashville, is a podcast series that breaks down the latest news in breast cancer research, one conversation at a time.

In this episode, Dr Nunnery sat down with Sarah L. Sammons, MD, an associate professor of medicine, the co-director of the Breast Cancer Evaluation and Treatment Program, co-leader of Breast Medical Oncology, and the co-director of the Multidisciplinary Brain Metastases Clinic at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center in Baltimore.

The experts discussed the management of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer and brain metastases. Dr Sammons explained that brain metastases arise when primary breast cancer cells migrate through the bloodstream, noting that HER2-positive and triple-negative breast cancer subtypes carry the highest risk. She argued that current ASCO and National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines should be reconsidered to permit screening brain MRIs when findings would change treatment, emphasizing quality-of-life end points over overall survival.

Turning to therapy, Dr Sammons reviewed local treatment options and the evolving understanding of the blood-brain barrier, highlighting that both TKIs and antibody-drug conjugates can penetrate the central nervous system. She then provided insights on data from the phase 3 HER2CLIMB-05 trial (NCT05132582), which supported the October 2026 FDA approval of tucatinib (Tukysa) added to trastuzumab (Herceptin) and pertuzumab (Perjeta) maintenance, extending median progression-free survival vs placebo plus trastuzumab and pertuzumab when administered following induction treatment.

Dr Sammons distinguished maintenance strategies by hormone receptor status, favoring the phase 3 PATINA trial regimen (NCT02947685) for estrogen receptor (ER)–positive disease and the HER2CLIMB-05 regimen for ER-negative disease. She also addressed treatment tolerability considerations, including diarrhea and transaminase elevations.

Finally, the experts contextualized first-line sequencing following the FDA approval of fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (Enhertu) plus pertuzumab, discussed leptomeningeal disease, explored the emerging role of circulating tumor DNA, and outlined future research directions, including VEGF bispecific antibodies and novel brain-penetrant agents.

Breast Cancer Briefing, hosted by Sara Nunnery, MD, MSCI, a breast medical oncologist and the director of Breast Cancer Research at Tennessee Oncology in Nashville, is a podcast series that breaks down the latest news in breast cancer research, one conversation at a time.

In this episode, Dr Nunnery sat down with Hil Moss, MBA, MPH, a breast cancer survivor and the co-founder and chief executive officer of OncoveryCare, the first virtual survivorship clinic delivering cancer survivorship care.

Their conversation centered on the often-overlooked gap in breast cancer survivorship care, beginning with Moss's personal story. Diagnosed with breast cancer at age 28, just weeks into her MBA program, Moss described a 15-month active treatment phase that anchored her in a clear plan, as well as the disorienting transition that followed once her treatment ended. She explained that the period after active treatment surfaced both mental health challenges and difficult physical effects, including adverse effects associated with tamoxifen.

Moss then contextualized why the cancer care system underinvests in survivorship, framing it as a care-model design problem. She explained that the episodic, high-throughput oncology model was built decades ago for a smaller population at a time when survival rates were far lower, and emphasized that this model has not been reconceptualized for today's growing population of survivors living longer with late cancer and treatment effects. She described the resulting problem, in which patients bounce between oncology and primary care.

Turning to OncoveryCare, Moss detailed its telemedicine model, which integrates directly with oncology teams and deploys a survivorship-trained team to address both the visible symptoms and invisible risks of survivorship, as well as behavioral health support. Finally, Moss advocated for the measurement of hard survivorship outcomes, including medication adherence and mortality, highlighted an endocrine therapy survivorship program, and urged clinicians to simply ask patients about their survivorship challenges to determine how best to help them in the months and years following their treatment.

Breast Cancer Briefing, hosted by Sara Nunnery, MD, MSCI, a breast medical oncologist and the director of Breast Cancer Research at Tennessee Oncology in Nashville, is a podcast series that breaks down the latest news in breast cancer research, one conversation at a time.

In this episode, Dr Nunnery sat down with Matthew Kurian, MD, a hematologist/oncologist at St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Edgewood, Kentucky, as well as an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Highland Heights.

The experts discussed the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in oncology, beginning with foundational concepts. Dr Kurian explained that AI comprises systems trained to recognize patterns from large datasets, distinguishing generative large language models, such as ChatGPT, from retrieval-grounded tools, such as OpenEvidence, which draw from trusted sources like ASCO and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Guidelines. He cautioned about pitfalls of AI, including hallucinations and automation bias, and stressed the importance of verifying AI outputs and using effective prompts.

The conversation then addressed AI scribes, with Dr Kurian citing data showing that primary care physicians derive the most benefit from these tools, whereas surgical specialists derive the least. He noted that although scribes help clinicians be more present, these tools have not reduced time spent working after hours, which he attributed to an efficiency paradox in which saved time is reabsorbed by additional patients or tasks.

Turning to FDA-authorized AI devices, Dr Kurian traced AI’s history in mammography from computer-aided detection to Clairity Breast, which uses existing mammograms to calculate a 5-year breast cancer risk in patients starting at age 35 years. He also discussed access and reimbursement limitations associated with this technology.

Finally, Dr Kurian issued a call to action urging ASCO and the NCCN to require prospective validation before integrating AI tools, warning against reliance on outdated retrospective data and the risk of widening disparities, while emphasizing balanced, responsible adoption of these tools.