An emerging generation of endocrine therapies in breast cancer: a clinical perspective

Anti-estrogen therapy is a key component of the treatment of both early and advanced-stage hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer. This review discusses the recent emergence of several anti-estrogen therapies, some of which were designed to overcome common mechanisms of endocrine resistance. The new generation of drugs includes selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), orally administered selective estrogen receptor degraders (SERDs), as well as more unique agents such as complete estrogen receptor antagonists (CERANs), proteolysis targeting chimeric (PROTACs), and selective estrogen receptor covalent antagonists (SERCAs). These drugs are at various stages of development and are being evaluated in both early and metastatic settings. We discuss the efficacy, toxicity profile, and completed and ongoing clinical trials for each drug and highlight key differences in their activity and study population that have ultimately influenced their advancement.