At the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting Fumiko Chino, MD, summarized her presentation on how doctors can help the people they care for overcome financial issues. She also offered some strategies for patients.

Listen to the podcast to hear Dr. Chino explain:

some specific resources for people with cancer

why people with breast cancer may have the most financial issues

her top three recommendations for people having financial hardship

The 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting featured five days of presentations and educational sessions on all types of cancer. Dr. Eleonora Teplinsky, a board-certified medical oncologist at the Valley-Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center in Paramus, NJ, summarizes the top breast cancer research.

Listen to the episode to hear Dr. Teplinsky discuss:

The SERENA-6 trial, which found that if metastatic hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer develops ESR1 mutations during first hormonal therapy treatment, switching to camizestrant from an aromatase inhibitor before the cancer grows improves outcomes.

Results from the DESTINY-Breast09 trial showing that the combination of Enhertu (chemical name: fam-trastuzumab-deruxtecan-nxki) and Perjeta (chemical name: pertuzumab) is a better first treatment for metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer than the current standard of THP chemo. 

The ASCENT-04/KEYNOTE-D19 trial, which found that people with metastatic, PD-L1-positive, triple-negative breast cancer fared better with the combo of Trodelvy (chemical name: sacituzumab govitecan-hziy) and Keytruda (chemical name: pembrolizumab) as a first treatment compared to people who received chemotherapy and Keytruda.

At the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, Dr. Katie Schmitz chaired a session on ways to ensure that exercise is part of every cancer treatment plan. She also talked about how results of the CHALLENGE trial in colon cancer might apply to breast cancer.

Listen to the episode to hear Dr. Schmitz explain:

strategies doctors can use to make exercise an integral part of cancer care

how people can afford and stay motivated to exercise

the results of the CHALLENGE trial, which found that three years of exercise after colon cancer treatment improved disease-free survival (how long people lived without the cancer coming back) and overall survival (how long people lived whether or not the cancer came back)

At the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, Dr. Samantha El Warrak presented the results of her research on how five lifestyle factors affect the risk of dying from breast cancer. 

Listen to the episode to hear Dr. El Warrak explain:

the five risk factors included in the study

which risk factors were most linked to breast cancer mortality

what the results mean for women diagnosed with breast cancer

By 2030, researchers estimate that about 246,000 people will be living with metastatic breast cancer. METAvivor is the first organization dedicated to raising awareness of, and funding research on, stage IV breast cancer. Dr. Kelly Shanahan, current METAvivor president, has been living with metastatic disease for 11 years.

Listen to the episode to hear Dr. Shanahan explain:

how METAvivor started funding research

the funding process

why private funding is so important in today’s political climate

what she’s most fearful of

Ashton Davidson was diagnosed with breast cancer during gender-affirming top surgery. He faced some unique challenges and situations during and after treatment.

Listen to the episode to hear Ash explain:

the emotions he felt when diagnosed

how he decided to become an outspoken advocate

how he lives authentically in the face of adversity

how he finds joy, especially today

Can people diagnosed with metastatic hormone receptor-positive breast cancer avoid chemotherapy and take a CDK4/6 inhibitor instead? Do people diagnosed with DCIS need to have surgery? Will there soon be another oral selective estrogen degrader available?

Breastcancer.org medical advisor Dr. Kevin Fox explains the details of the studies and what they mean for you.

Listen to the episode to hear Dr. Fox discuss these studies:

It’s been known for many years that Black women are twice as likely as white women to be diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. If diagnosed with this type of breast cancer, Black women are also more than twice as likely to die from the disease than women of other races and ethnicities. Researchers have been studying a number of factors that may play a role in these disparities.

Dr. Sanchita Bhatnagar’s research has found that cells that have too much TRIM37 protein are much more likely to become cancerous. She and her colleagues also have found that the breast tissue of Black women are much more likely to have high levels of TRIM37.

Listen to the episode to hear Dr. Bhatnagar explain:

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) are the largest funder of cancer research in the world. A January 2025 executive order froze NIH funding and cut indirect cost payments. Another executive order halted all public communications by a number of federal agencies. Challenges to the orders are winding through the courts. 

Dr. Donald McDonnell, who studies and develops drugs to treat breast and prostate cancer, explains how these actions are affecting breast cancer research and what it might mean for people diagnosed with the disease.

Listen to the episode to hear Dr. McDonnell discuss:

About 10% to 15% of breast cancers are triple-negative. This means they don’t have receptors for the hormones estrogen or progesterone, and don’t have too many HER2 proteins. So, hormonal therapy medicines and medicines that target the HER2 protein aren’t effective against triple-negative breast cancer. 

Chemotherapy and immunotherapy are commonly used to treat triple-negative disease. But scientists are working diligently to develop new treatments that are more precise and targeted. 

Triple-negative breast cancer expert Dr. Lisa Carey explains the latest research.

Listen to the episode to hear Dr. Carey discuss: