The discovery of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) molecular pathway has brought insight into its vital role in breast cancer pathogenesis. Several clinical trials have shown that the mTOR inhibitor everolimus could improve patient outcomes in several subtypes of breast cancer, including hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor-negative metastatic disease that has progressed after prior endocrine therapy. This review summarizes findings from clinical trials that have demonstrated the benefit of everolimus in metastatic breast cancer and highlights some new research directions utilizing everolimus.
Keywords: endocrine resistance; everolimus; hormone receptor–positive; mTOR.