Gabriel N. Hortobagyi
Breast cancer physician-scientist and senior author of BOLERO-2, the phase 3 trial that showed adding the mTOR inhibitor everolimus improves outcomes in advanced hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer
Professor of Medicine, Breast Medical Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center · Chairman, Department of Breast Medical Oncology (1995–2015) · Nellie B. Connally Chair in Breast Cancer (1998–2015) · Clinician and clinical trialist
Portrait: Giants of Cancer Care (OncLive)
Gabriel Hortobagyi is a medical oncologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He earned his MD at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in 1970, trained in internal medicine at Case Western Reserve University, and did his oncology fellowship at MD Anderson, where he has worked since the 1970s. He chaired the Department of Breast Medical Oncology from 1995 to 2015.
Many hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers stop responding to hormone therapy, and this resistance is linked to activation of mTOR signaling. BOLERO-2 tested whether blocking mTOR could help. In 724 postmenopausal women whose cancer had progressed on a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor, adding everolimus to the drug exemestane was compared with exemestane plus placebo.
Progression-free survival was 10.6 months with everolimus versus 4.1 months with placebo by central review. Side effects included mouth sores (stomatitis), anemia and pneumonitis. The trial supported approval of everolimus for this use and remains one of the clearest human proofs that targeting mTOR can help cancer patients. Hortobagyi is a clinician and trialist, not a bench scientist.
Milestones in the Atlas
A selection, not a full bibliography: only papers that meet the Atlas inclusion criteria.
| Year | Evidence | Study |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | H | Everolimus in postmenopausal hormone-receptor-positive advanced breast cancer (BOLERO-2) BAS2012 Phase 3 randomized trial (n=724) in which adding everolimus to exemestane raised median progression-free survival from 4.1 to 10.6 months (central review); Hortobagyi is the senior author. |
| 2014 | H | Everolimus plus exemestane for hormone-receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2-negative advanced breast cancer: overall survival results from BOLERO-2† PIC2014 Final overall-survival analysis of BOLERO-2: the progression-free survival gain held (7.8 vs 3.2 months) but overall survival was not significantly longer (31.0 vs 26.6 months, P = 0.14); Hortobagyi is a co-author (second author). |
Co-authors in the Atlas
People with a profile here who share at least one study with Gabriel N. Hortobagyi.
- José Baselga 2 shared studies Breast cancer oncologist who led the BOLERO-2 trial showing that the mTOR inhibitor everolimus added to hormone therapy lengthens progression-free survival
- Martine J. Piccart 2 shared studies Breast cancer oncologist who co-founded the Breast International Group and has led or co-led major academic trials such as HERA, MINDACT and ALTTO.
Every researcher with a profile →
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