Glossary
Below are some terms you might wish to become familiar with.
Advanced/metastatic breast cancer: Cancer that started in your breast but has now moved to other parts of your body.1,2
Hormone receptor-positive (HR+): Cancer cells that use hormones like oestrogen or progesterone to grow.2
Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-): Cancer cells with normal amounts and types of HER2, a protein that can cause breast cancer cells to grow and spread.3
PIK3CA mutation: Cancer cells with a change (or mutation) in a certain part of the DNA known as the PIK3CA gene. This mutation may cause cancer cells to grow and spread.4
Postmenopausal: After menopause, when a woman has not menstruated for 12 consecutive months.5,6
Progression: When cancer grows or gets worse.7 It is common for advanced breast cancer to progress after some time even if it is being treated.1 If this happens while being treated, this is sometimes called becoming resistant to that treatment.8
Targeted therapy: A type of treatment that uses drugs to target specific genes and proteins that are involved in the growth and survival of cancer cells.1,9