Titles and Affiliations
Assistant Attending
Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation
Research Area
Testing drug combinations to make immunotherapy more effective for ER-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer.
Impact
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States, and most cases are estrogen receptor (ER)-positive/HER2-negative. While hormone therapies can initially control ER-positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer, many patients eventually develop resistance and are left with limited treatment options. Immunotherapy has transformed treatment for other cancers by activating the body’s own immune system, but it has shown limited success in ER-positive/HER2-negative disease because these tumors tend to be less visible to the immune system. For her Conquer Cancer research supported by BCRF, Dr. Shen is testing a new combination therapy designed to make these tumors more responsive to immunotherapy.
What’s Next
Dr. Shen’s clinical trial (NCT06110793) combines three drugs: 1. Lenvatinib which targets pathways tumors use to grow and suppress the immune system, making tumors more visible to the immune system; 2. Fulvestrant, a hormone therapy that blocks estrogen receptors and can also influence immune cells in the tumor environment; and 3. Pembrolizumab an immunotherapy drug that helps immune cells recognize and attack cancer cells. The team will assess whether this combination can shrink tumors and slow disease progression more effectively than current treatments and will study how the drugs change the tumor environment to improve pembrolizumab’s effectiveness. They also hope to identify biomarkers that predict which patients are most likely to benefit, paving the way for more personalized treatment. If successful, this research could introduce an immunotherapy option to patients with tumors that would not otherwise respond.
Biography
Sherry Shen, MD is a medical oncologist and clinical investigator on the Breast Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). She serves as co-director of the MSK Lobular Breast Cancer Program, one of the first dedicated clinical programs in the country for patients with invasive lobular carcinoma. Her research centers on optimizing treatment efficacy and tolerability for patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer, with a particular focus on lobular breast cancer. She leads clinical trials exploring the use of immunotherapy, novel endocrine therapies, and metabolically targeted therapies in metastatic disease. Her work is supported by Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation; the Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation; Expedition Inspiration; and Kat’s Ribbon of Hope.
