research project on breast cancer

Advances in Breast Cancer Research

A polyploid giant cancer cell from triple-negative breast cancer in which actin is red, mitochondria are green, and nuclear DNA is blue.

A polyploid giant cancer cell (PGCC) from triple-negative breast cancer.

NCI-funded researchers are working to advance our understanding of how to prevent, detect, and treat breast cancer. They are also looking at how to address disparities and improve quality of life for survivors of the disease.

This page highlights some of what's new in the latest research for breast cancer, including new clinical advances that may soon translate into improved care, NCI-supported programs that are fueling progress, and research findings from recent studies.

Early Detection of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is one of a few cancers for which an effective screening test, mammography , is available. MRI ( magnetic resonance imaging ) and ultrasound are also used to detect breast cancer, but not as routine screening tools for people with average risk.

Ongoing studies are looking at ways to enhance current breast cancer screening options. Technological advances in imaging are creating new opportunities for improvements in both screening and early detection.

One technology advance is 3-D mammography , also called breast tomosynthesis . This procedure takes images from different angles around the breast and builds them into a 3-D-like image. Although this technology is increasingly available in the clinic, it isn’t known whether it is better than standard 2-D mammography , for detecting cancer at a less advanced stage.

NCI is funding a large-scale randomized breast screening trial, the Tomosynthesis Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (TMIST) , to compare the number of advanced cancers detected in women screened for 5 years with 3-D mammography with the number detected in women screened with 2-D mammography.

Two concerns in breast cancer screening, as in all cancer screening, are:

the potential for diagnosing tumors that would not have become life-threatening ( overdiagnosis )
the possibility of receiving false-positive test results, and the anxiety that comes with follow-up tests or procedures

As cancer treatment is becoming more individualized, researchers are looking at ways to personalize breast cancer screening. They are studying screening methods that are appropriate for each woman’s level of risk and limit the possibility of overdiagnosis.

For example, the Women Informed to Screen Depending on Measures of Risk (WISDOM) study aims to determine if risk-based screening—that is, screening at intervals that are based on each woman’s risk as determined by her genetic makeup, family history , and other risk factors—is as safe, effective, and accepted as standard annual screening mammography.

WISDOM is also making a focused effort to enroll Black women in the trial. Past studies tended to contain a majority of White women and therefore, there is less data on how screening can benefit Black women. Researchers are taking a number of steps to include as many Black women as possible in the study while also increasing the diversity of all women enrolled.

Breast Cancer Treatment

The mainstays of breast cancer treatment are surgery , radiation , chemotherapy , hormone therapy , and targeted therapy . But scientists continue to study novel treatments and drugs, along with new combinations of existing treatments.

It is now known that breast cancer can be divided into subtypes based on whether they:

are hormone receptor (HR) positive which means they express estrogen and/or progesterone receptors ( ER , PR )

Illustrations of two forms of breast-conserving surgery

Shortening Radiation Therapy for Some with Early Breast Cancer

A condensed course was as effective and safe as the standard course for women with higher-risk early-stage breast cancer who had a lumpectomy.

As we learn more about the subtypes of breast cancer and their behavior, we can use this information to guide treatment decisions. For example:

The NCI-sponsored TAILORx clinical trial. The study, which included patients with ER-positive, lymph node-negative breast cancer, found that a test that looks at the expression of certain genes can predict which women can safely avoid chemotherapy.
The RxPONDER trial found that the same gene expression test can also be used to determine treatment options in women with more advanced breast cancer. The study found that some postmenopausal women with HR positive, HER-2 negative breast cancer that has spread to several lymph nodes and has a low risk of recurrence do not benefit from chemotherapy when added to their hormone therapy.
The OFSET trial is comparing the addition of chemotherapy to usual treatment ( ovarian function suppression plus hormone therapy) to usual treatment alone in treating premenopausal estrogen receptor (ER)-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer patients who are at high risk of their cancer returning. This will help determine whether or not adding chemotherapy helps prevent the cancer from returning.

Genomic analyses, such as those carried out through The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) , have provided more insights into the molecular diversity of breast cancer and eventually could help identify even more breast cancer subtypes. That knowledge, in turn, may lead to the development of therapies that target the genetic alterations that drive those cancer subtypes.

HR-Positive Breast Cancer Treatment

Hormone therapies have been a mainstay of treatment for HR-positive cancer. However, there is a new focus on adding targeted therapies to hormone therapy for advanced or metastatic HR-positive cancers. These treatments could prolong the time until chemotherapy is needed and ideally, extend survival. Approved drugs include:

A woman in her 40s in her bedroom holding a pill bottle and her mobile phone

Drug Combo Effective for Metastatic Breast Cancer in Younger Women

Ribociclib plus hormone therapy were superior to standard chemotherapy combos in a recent trial.

Palbociclib (Ibrance) , ribociclib (Kisqali) , and everolimus (Afinitor) have all been approved by the FDA for use with hormone therapy for treatment of advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Ribociclib has been shown to increase the survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer . It has also shown to slow the growth of metastatic cancer in younger women when combined with hormone therapy.
Elacestrant (Orserdu) is approved for HR-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer that has a mutation in the ESR1 gene, and has spread. It is used in postmenopausal women and in men whose cancer has gotten worse after at least one type of hormone therapy.
Abemaciclib (Verzenio) can be used with or after hormone therapy to treat advanced or metastatic HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. In October 2021, the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) approved abemaciclib in combination with hormone therapy to treat some people who have had surgery for early-stage HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer.
Alpelisib (Piqray) is approved to be used in combination with hormone therapy to treat advanced or metastatic HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancers that have a mutation in the PIK3CA gene .
Sacituzumab govitecan-hziy (Trodelvy) is used for HR-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer that has spread or can't be removed with surgery. It is used in those who have received hormone therapy and at least two previous treatments. It has shown to extend the amount of time that the disease doesn't get worse ( progression-free survival ) and also shown to improve overall survival .

HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Treatment

The FDA has approved a number of targeted therapies to treat HER2-positive breast cancer , including:

Trastuzumab (Herceptin) has been approved to be used to prevent a relapse in patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer.
Pertuzumab (Perjeta) is used to treat metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, and also both before surgery ( neoadjuvant ) and after surgery ( adjuvant therapy ).
Trastuzumab and pertuzumab together can be used in combination with chemotherapy to prevent relapse in people with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer. Both are also used together in metastatic disease, where they delay progression and improve overall survival.
Trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu) is approved for patients with advanced or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer who have previously received a HER2-targeted treatment. A 2021 clinical trial showed that the drug lengthened the time that people with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer lived without their cancer progressing. The trial also showed that it was better at shrinking tumors than another targeted drug, trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla).
Tucatinib (Tukysa) is approved to be used in combination with trastuzumab and capecitabine (Xeloda) for HER2-positive breast cancer that cannot be removed with surgery or is metastatic. Tucatinib is able to cross the blood–brain barrier, which makes it especially useful for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, which tends to spread to the brain.
Lapatinib (Tykerb) has been approved for treatment of some patients with HER2-positive advanced or metastatic breast cancer, together with capecitabine or letrozole.
Neratinib Maleate (Nerlynx) can be used in patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer and can also be used together with capecitabine (Xeloda) in some patients with advanced or metastatic disease.
Ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla) is approved to treat patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer who have previously received trastuzumab and a taxane . It's also used in some patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer who have completed therapy before surgery ( neoadjuvant ) and have residual disease at the time of surgery.

HER2-Low Breast Cancer

A newly defined subtype, HER2-low, accounts for more than half of all metastatic breast cancers. HER2-low tumors are defined as those whose cells contain lower levels of the HER2 protein on their surface. Such tumors have traditionally been classified as HER2-negative because they did not respond to drugs that target HER2.

However, in a clinical trial, trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu) improved the survival of patients with HER2-low breast cancer compared with chemotherapy , and the drug is approved for use in such patients.

Immunotherapy Improves Survival in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

For patients whose tumors had high PD-L1 levels, pembrolizumab with chemo helped them live longer.

Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Treatment

Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) are the hardest to treat because they lack both hormone receptors and HER2 overexpression , so they do not respond to therapies directed at these targets. Therefore, chemotherapy is the mainstay for treatment of TNBC. However, new treatments are starting to become available. These include:

Sacituzumab govitecan-hziy (Trodelvy) is approved to treat patients with TNBC that has spread to other parts of the body . Patients must have received at least two prior therapies before receiving the drug.
Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is an immunotherapy drug that is approved to be used in combination with chemotherapy for patients with locally advanced or metastatic TNBC that has the PD-L1 protein. It may also be used before surgery (called neoadjuvant ) for patients with early-stage TNBC, regardless of their PD-L1 status.
PARP inhibitors, which include olaparib (Lynparza) and talazoparib (Talzenna) , are approved to treat metastatic HER2-negative or triple-negative breast cancers in patients who have inherited a harmful BRCA gene mutation. Olaparib is also approved for use in certain patients with early-stage HER2-negative or triple-negative breast cancer.
Drugs that block the androgen receptors or prevent androgen production are being tested in a subset of TNBC that express the androgen receptor.

For a complete list of drugs for breast cancer, see Drugs Approved for Breast Cancer .

NCI-Supported Breast Cancer Research Programs

Many NCI-funded researchers working at the NIH campus, as well as across the United States and world, are seeking ways to address breast cancer more effectively. Some research is basic, exploring questions as diverse as the biological underpinnings of cancer and the social factors that affect cancer risk. And some are more clinical, seeking to translate this basic information into improving patient outcomes. The programs listed below are a small sampling of NCI’s research efforts in breast cancer.

TMIST is a randomized breast screening trial that compares two Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved types of digital mammography, standard digital mammography (2-D) with a newer technology called tomosynthesis mammography (3-D).

The Breast Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (Breast SPOREs) are designed to quickly move basic scientific findings into clinical settings. The Breast SPOREs support the development of new therapies and technologies, and studies to better understand tumor resistance, diagnosis, prognosis, screening, prevention, and treatment of breast cancer.

The NCI Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET) focuses on using modeling to improve our understanding of how prevention, early detection, screening, and treatment affect breast cancer outcomes.

The Confluence Project , from NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG) , is developing a research resource that includes data from thousands of breast cancer patients and controls of different races and ethnicities. This resource will be used to identify genes that are associated with breast cancer risk, prognosis, subtypes, response to treatment, and second breast cancers. (DCEG conducts other breast cancer research as well.)

The Black Women’s Health Study (BWHS) Breast Cancer Risk Calculator allows health professionals to estimate a woman’s risk of developing invasive breast cancer over the next 5 years. With the NCI-funded effort, researchers developed a tool to estimate the risk of breast cancer in US Black women. The team that developed the tool hopes it will help guide more personalized decisions on when Black women—especially younger women—should begin breast cancer screening.

The goal of the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) , an NCI-funded program launched in 1994, is to enhance the understanding of breast cancer screening practices in the United States and their impact on the breast cancer's stage at diagnosis, survival rates, and mortality.

There are ongoing programs at NCI that support prevention and early detection research in different cancers, including breast cancer. Examples include:

The Cancer Biomarkers Research Group , which promotes research in cancer biomarkers and manages the Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) . EDRN is a network of NCI-funded institutions that are collaborating to discover and validate early detection biomarkers. Within the EDRN, the Breast and Gynecologic Cancers Collaborative Group conducts research on breast and ovarian cancers.
NCI's Division of Cancer Prevention houses the Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Research Group which conducts and fosters the development of research on the prevention and early detection of breast and gynecologic cancers.

Breast Cancer Survivorship Research

NCI’s Office of Cancer Survivorship, part of the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS), supports research projects throughout the country that study many issues related to breast cancer survivorship. Examples of studies funded include the impact of cancer and its treatment on physical functioning, emotional well-being, cognitive impairment , sleep disturbances, and cardiovascular health. Other studies focus on financial impacts, the effects on caregivers, models of care for survivors, and issues such as racial disparities and communication.

Breast Cancer Clinical Trials

NCI funds and oversees both early- and late-phase clinical trials to develop new treatments and improve patient care. Trials are available for breast cancer prevention , screening , and treatment .

Breast Cancer Research Results

The following are some of our latest news articles on breast cancer research and study updates:

Can Some People with Breast Cancer Safely Skip Lymph Node Radiation?
Study Adds to Debate about Mammography in Older Women
Pausing Long-Term Breast Cancer Therapy to Become Pregnant Appears to Be Safe
A Safer, Better Treatment Option for Some Younger Women with Breast Cancer
Shorter Course of Radiation Is Effective, Safe for Some with Early-Stage Breast Cancer
Pembrolizumab Improves Survival in Advanced Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

View the full list of Breast Cancer Research Results and Study Updates .

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Research philosophy.

NBCF’s mission is to help now and inspire hope to those affected by breast cancer through early detection, education, and support services. This distinguishes NBCF from other breast cancer charities . While we fully support investments in research for a cure or new life-extending therapies, we are focused on helping the patient diagnosed today. Patients diagnosed today need life-saving interventions now, and many of these patients face barriers like cost, fear, and misinformation, and simply need navigation. Research that leads to a future medical breakthrough won’t help now and will be too late for many of these patients.

Since our start in 1991, we have invested millions into research to improve early detection, diagnostics, and improvements to current therapies. While some of our funded projects have yielded impactful results, the overall investment is a drop in the bucket.

National Institutes of Health invests over $40 billion each year to medical research. Other major cancer nonprofits add hundreds of millions to that number. Meanwhile, the overall cost of cancer care in the U.S. is over $150 billion a year. While every cancer patient wants a cure, there is a bigger problem cancer patients face today – navigating cost of care and the complexities of the cancer care system.

History of Our Research Projects

NBCF was founded in 1991 with the mission to help women now. Since that time, NBCF has funded over $7 million in research projects. This investment led to the following discoveries:

Discovery of a homologue gene of HER2 which led to the development of Herceptin.
Founding member of Worldwide Innovative Network (WIN), created to accelerate the pace and reduce the cost of translating novel cancer treatments to the bedside by developing and applying, through worldwide clinical trials and research projects, the most promising advances in genomic-based cancer research.
Launch of WINTHER Trial, which aimed to expand precision oncology to patients with advanced solid tumors that progressed after treatment with standard therapies.
MD Anderson’s Breast Cancer Moon Shots Program – researching novel genetic markers to identify new plans of attack and improve triple negative breast cancer patient outcomes.

NBCF also funded breakthroughs in breast cancer early detection and patient navigation programs at Cleveland Clinic, UC San Francisco, and C-Change.

Our Research Now

NBCF supports research projects to study and improve existing programs in order to help improve quality of life for metastatic breast cancer patients and their caregivers as well as increase access to knowledge, resources, and training for patient navigators. NBCF funds the following research projects:

Metastatic Breast Cancer Retreat Research

Research partners: Saint Luke’s Cancer Institute & Koontz Center for Advanced Breast Cancer
Quantitative analysis
Qualitative analysis

Patient Navigation Research

Research partners: Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators
Multisite study of patient navigation programs
Creation of navigation metrics toolkit

Metastatic Breast Cancer Retreats

Study 1 : outcomes from a metastatic breast cancer retreat for patients and caregivers: improvements in gratitude and personal meaning .

Larson, C., Harry, K. M., Geske, S. J., Metsker, J., Miller, M., Eyler, J., Adams, H., & Pluard, T. J. (2020, March). Outcomes from a Metastatic Breast Cancer Retreat for Patients and Caregivers: Improvements in Gratitude and Personal Meaning . Virtual poster presented at the annual conference of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society.

Saint Luke’s Cancer Institute & Koontz Center for Advanced Breast Cancer

Background/Purpose

Lillie Shockney’s “A Journey of Courage and Hope” three-day retreat protocol is designed to address the specific psychosocial needs of women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and their caregivers. Over the course of three days, patients and caregivers participated in guided activities that supported the medical, spiritual, psychological, and relational challenges of MBC. Thus, this study investigated how the three-day psychosocial retreat affected self-reported measures of gratitude, personal meaning, and emotional intimacy.

Study 2 : Experiences of Metastatic Breast Cancer Retreat: A Qualitative Analysis Comparing Patients and Their Caregivers

Carly Larson, M.A.; Savannah Geske, Ph.D., Janie Metsker, RN BSN CN-BN; Monty Miller, LCSW; Jake Eyler, MDiv., BCC

Saint Luke’s Hospital Koontz Center for Advanced Breast Cancer

Over the course of two years, Saint Luke’s Cancer Institute hosted three weekend-long therapeutic retreats for women with metastatic breast cancer and their significant others. The three-day long program was based on Lillie Shockney’s, A Journey of Courage and Hope retreat protocol. At the end of each retreat, all participants completed open-ended survey questions about their experience. This quality improvement research project reviewed the responses in order to improve and enhance the retreat curriculum to best serve both patients and their caregivers.

Patient Navigation

National evidence-based oncology navigation metrics: multisite exploratory study to demonstrate value and sustainability of navigation programs.

Over the past 3 years, a dedicated task force comprised of the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators ( AONN+ ) leadership and members, in collaboration with the American Cancer Society and Chartis Oncology Solutions, has been involved in the extensive exploratory multisite study to demonstrate the value and sustainability of navigation programs.

The purpose of the study is to (1) assess the reliability and validity of 10 key metrics selected from the list of 35 developed by AONN+, and (2) gain insight into the barriers and challenges navigation programs encounter during the implementation of navigation metrics. Harnessing the power of this information to create best practices will elevate navigation and garner industry support for advancing patient-centered care delivery.

The result of those efforts is the Navigation Metrics Toolkit . This new resource will be an invaluable aid to navigators, oncology program administrators, healthcare executives, and other clinicians who are linked to navigation in creating transformative patient care and defining oncology navigation professional practice.

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Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer SPORE

Photograph of Dr. Fergus Couch using a microscope to examine samples

With funding from the National Cancer Institute, the SPORE supports three research projects vital to advancing clinical care.

The vision of the Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer SPORE is that the burden of breast cancer can be reduced by conducting innovative translational research accomplished by addressing research questions that are vitally important to everyone affected by breast cancer. The mission of the SPORE is to accomplish this vision.

The Breast Cancer SPORE addresses significant problems related to breast cancer, with the goal of reducing morbidity and mortality. We're accomplishing this goal through research projects that focus on breast cancer risk and prevention and the development of a novel approach to treat premenopausal breast cancer that is estrogen receptor (ER) positive and HER2 negative (HER2-). This type of cancer is also called ER+/HER2- breast cancer.

To enhance our work, our investigators collaborate with researchers in other breast cancer SPOREs and leading breast cancer programs in the United States through the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium . This consortium was established to aid and expedite the development of sophisticated breast cancer research and its application to clinical practice. The Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer SPORE also collaborates with Academic and Community Cancer Research United (ACCRU) .

Research projects

The Breast Cancer SPORE supports three translational research projects:

The Influence of Variants in ER-Positive Breast Cancer Predisposition Genes on Breast Cancer Risk and Response to Therapy. Researchers are investigating genetic mutations so that women can receive accurate information about their cancer risk. Read more .
Improving the Endocrine Management of Premenopausal ER+/HER2- Breast Cancer. Researchers are developing a new drug called Z-endoxifen to treat premenopausal estrogen receptor-expressing breast cancer. Read more .
Development of a Novel Multi-Antigen Breast Cancer Prevention Vaccine for Premalignant Disease. Investigators are developing a new vaccine that targets common antigens found on all the major types of breast cancer. Read more .

These research projects are supported by the SPORE's three highly interactive cores: the Administrative Core, the Biospecimens and Pathology Core, and the Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Patient Registry Core.

Investigator support

The Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer SPORE also provides research awards and support for investigators.

The SPORE's Developmental Research Program supports innovative and scientifically meritorious research projects that have the greatest potential to be translated into clinically important applications to prevent, diagnose and treat breast cancer. Read more .

The SPORE's Career Enhancement Program is for highly qualified investigators who have the greatest potential to conduct meaningful translational research and develop independent research programs to reduce the burden and mortality of breast cancer. Qualified women, minority individuals, veterans and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Read more .

NCI funding

The SPORE has a long track record of performing practice-changing translational research.

The Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer SPORE grant was first awarded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 2005 through a competitive application process. Since then, the NCI has awarded each grant renewal application — 2011, 2016 and most recently in 2022, when the NCI awarded Mayo Clinic a five-year, $12.1 million grant for the SPORE .

The Breast Cancer SPORE is part of the Women's Cancer Program , a formal research program within Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Cancer Center is one of six cancer research centers in the United States with a currently funded NCI SPORE grant for breast cancer research.

A SPORE , or Specialized Program of Research Excellence, is a cornerstone of the NCI 's efforts to promote collaborative, interdisciplinary translational cancer research. In addition to the Breast Cancer SPORE , the Cancer Center has three other NCI SPORE grants and a shared SPORE . Read more about these five SPORE grants .

SPORE leadership

Photograph of Matthew P. Goetz, M.D., of Mayo Clinic

The principal investigator and director of the Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer SPORE is Matthew P. Goetz, M.D.

Dr. Goetz received the SPORE 's first Career Enhancement Award in 2005. He became co-leader of a SPORE research project in 2009 and became co-principal investigator of the SPORE in 2014. He became the overall principal investigator and director in 2018.

Dr. Goetz also is a practicing oncologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Goetz is a professor of oncology and a professor of pharmacology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. He is recognized with the distinction of being the Erivan K. Haub Family Professor of Cancer Research Honoring Richard F. Emslander, M.D. Dr. Goetz's research focuses on estrogen receptor positive breast cancer and the development of novel therapeutics for endocrine-resistant breast cancer. His laboratory and clinical work are funded by the National Institutes of Health. Read Dr. Goetz's research profile .

Contact us for more information about our three main research projects, career enhancement programs, funding support for investigators, and collaboration opportunities.

The Breast Cancer SPORE supports three translational research projects aimed at moving exciting basic science discoveries to the clinic for patient care.

Variants in ER-Positive Breast Cancer Predisposition Genes

Endocrine Management of Premenopausal ER+/HER2- Breast Cancer

Development of a Novel Multi-Antigen Breast Cancer Prevention

Three cores support research in the Breast Cancer SPORE through administrative services, biospecimens and pathology, and data management.

Administrative Core - Cores Administrative Core
Biospecimens and Pathology Core - Cores Biospecimens and Pathology Core
Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Patient Registry Core - Cores Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Patient Registry Core

The Developmental Research Program funds new research projects and the Career Enhancement Program mentors promising investigators.

Developmental Research Program - Funding Developmental Research Program
Career Enhancement Program - Funding Career Enhancement Program

Women's Cancer Program

The Breast Cancer SPORE is part of the Women's Cancer Program, which advances the understanding of breast cancer and gynecological cancers.

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Published: 08 April 2024

The PARTNER trial of neoadjuvant olaparib in triple-negative breast cancer

Jean E. Abraham ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0688-4807 1 , 2 ,
Karen Pinilla ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2723-0805 1 , 2 ,
Alimu Dayimu 3 ,
Louise Grybowicz 4 ,
Nikolaos Demiris 5 ,
Caron Harvey 4 ,
Lynsey M. Drewett 6 ,
Rebecca Lucey ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6226-447X 1 , 2 ,
Alexander Fulton 1 , 2 ,
Anne N. Roberts 4 ,
Joanna R. Worley 1 , 2 ,
Anita Chhabra ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9899-8010 7 ,
Wendi Qian ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4238-3471 8 ,
Anne-Laure Vallier 4 ,
Richard M. Hardy 4 ,
Steve Chan 9 ,
Tamas Hickish 10 ,
Devashish Tripathi 11 , 12 ,
Ramachandran Venkitaraman 13 ,
Mojca Persic 14 ,
Shahzeena Aslam 15 ,
Daniel Glassman 16 ,
Sanjay Raj 17 , 18 , 19 ,
Annabel Borley 20 ,
Jeremy P. Braybrooke 21 ,
Stephanie Sutherland 22 ,
Emma Staples 23 ,
Lucy C. Scott 24 ,
Mark Davies 25 ,
Cheryl A. Palmer 26 ,
Margaret Moody 27 ,
Mark J. Churn 28 , 29 , 30 ,
Jacqueline C. Newby 31 ,
Mukesh B. Mukesh 32 ,
Amitabha Chakrabarti 33 ,
Rebecca R. Roylance 34 ,
Philip C. Schouten 35 ,
Nicola C. Levitt 36 ,
Karen McAdam 37 ,
Anne C. Armstrong 38 ,
Ellen R. Copson 39 ,
Emma McMurtry 40 ,
Marc Tischkowitz ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7880-0628 41 ,
Elena Provenzano 35 &
Helena M. Earl 1 , 2

Nature ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Breast cancer
Chemotherapy
Targeted therapies

PARTNER is a prospective, phase II-III, randomised controlled clinical trial, which recruited patients with Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) 1,2 , who were gBRCA wild type (gBRCAwt) 3 . Patients (n=559) were randomised on a 1:1 basis to neoadjuvant carboplatin with paclitaxel +/- olaparib 150mg twice daily, days 3 to 14, for 4 cycles (gap schedule olaparib, research arm) followed by 3 cycles of anthracycline chemotherapy before surgery. The primary endpoint was pathological complete response (pCR) 4 , and secondary endpoints included event-free survival (EFS), and overall survival (OS) 5 . pCR was achieved in 51% in the research arm and 52% in the control arm (p=0.753). Estimated EFS at 36 months in research and control arms were 80% and 79% (log-rank p>0.9); OS were 90% and 87.2% (log-rank p=0.8) respectively. In patients with pCR, estimated EFS at 36 months was 90%, and with non-pCR was 70% (log-rank p < 0.001) and OS was 96% and 83% (log-rank p < 0.001) respectively. Neo-adjuvant olaparib did not improve pCR rates, EFS or OS when added to carboplatin/paclitaxel and anthracycline chemotherapy in patients with TNBC (gBRCAwt). This is in marked contrast to the major benefit of olaparib (gap schedule) in those with gBRCA pathogenic variants (gBRCAm) which is reported separately (gBRCAm article). ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT03150576

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Authors and affiliations.

Precision Breast Cancer Institute, Department of Oncology, Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Jean E. Abraham, Karen Pinilla, Rebecca Lucey, Alexander Fulton, Joanna R. Worley & Helena M. Earl

Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Cambridge Cancer Trials Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Alimu Dayimu

Cambridge Cancer Trials Centre, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge and the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Louise Grybowicz, Caron Harvey, Anne N. Roberts, Anne-Laure Vallier & Richard M. Hardy

Department of Statistics, Athens University of Economics and Business, Athens, Greece

Nikolaos Demiris

Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Exeter, Devon, UK

Lynsey M. Drewett

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK

Anita Chhabra

Cambridge Clinical Trials Unit, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK

The City Hospital, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK

Royal Bournemouth General Hospital, Bournemouth, UK

Tamas Hickish

Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, Wolverhampton, UK

Devashish Tripathi

Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, West Midlands, UK

Ipswich Hospital, East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, Ipswich, UK

Ramachandran Venkitaraman

University Hospital of Derby and Burton, Derby, UK

Mojca Persic

Bedford Hospital, Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bedford, UK

Shahzeena Aslam

Pinderfields Hospital, Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, Wakefield, UK

Daniel Glassman

University Hospitals Southampton and Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trusts, Southampton, UK

Basingstoke & North Hampshire Hospital, Basingstoke, UK

Royal Hampshire Hospital, Winchester, UK

Velindre Cancer Centre, Cardiff, Wales, UK

Annabel Borley

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, Bristol, UK

Jeremy P. Braybrooke

Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, Northwood, UK

Stephanie Sutherland

Queens Hospital, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Romford, UK

Emma Staples

Beatson West Of Scotland Cancer Centre, Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Lucy C. Scott

Swansea Bay University Health Board, Swansea, Wales, UK

Mark Davies

Hinchingbrooke Hospital, North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, Huntingdon, UK

Cheryl A. Palmer

Macmillan Unit, West Suffolk Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Bury Saint Edmunds, UK

Margaret Moody

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, Worcester, UK

Mark J. Churn

Alexandra Redditch Hospital, Redditch, UK

Hospital, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, UK

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK

Jacqueline C. Newby

Oncology Department, Colchester General Hospital, East Suffolk & North Essex NHS Trust, Colchester, UK

Mukesh B. Mukesh

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust, Poole, UK

Amitabha Chakrabarti

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK

Rebecca R. Roylance

Department of Histopathology, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK

Philip C. Schouten & Elena Provenzano

Oxford University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK

Nicola C. Levitt

Peterborough City Hospital, North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, Peterborough, UK

Karen McAdam

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and Division of Cancer Sciences, Manchester, UK

Anne C. Armstrong

Cancer Sciences Academic Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

Ellen R. Copson

EMC2 Clinical Consultancy Ltd, Sale, Manchester, UK

Emma McMurtry

Department of Medical Genetics, National Institute for Health Research, Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

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Abraham, J.E., Pinilla, K., Dayimu, A. et al. The PARTNER trial of neoadjuvant olaparib in triple-negative breast cancer. Nature (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07384-2

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07384-2

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Confluence Project

The Confluence project will develop a large research resource to uncover breast cancer genetics through genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The resource will include at least 300,000 breast cancer cases and 300,000 controls of different races/ethnicities. This will be accomplished by the confluence of existing GWAS and new genome-wide genotyping data to be generated through this project.

Broad scientific aims that can be addressed through this resource include:

To discover susceptibility loci and advance knowledge of etiology of breast cancer overall and by subtypes.
To develop polygenic risk scores and integrate them with known risk factors for personalized risk assessment for breast cancer overall and by subtypes.
To discover loci for breast cancer prognosis, long-term survival, response to treatment, and second breast cancer.

For more information, please see the Confluence Data Platform .

Please contact the project manager, Thomas Ahearn, at [email protected]

Confluence is supported by NCI Intramural Research funds.

Artemis Project®

What is nbcc's artemis project®.

Originally created as the research component of NBCC’s  Breast Cancer Deadline 2020 ®  initiative, the Artemis Project ®  is an advocate-led collaboration of researchers and advocates that develops and implements research action plans to address overarching issues in breast cancer. The Artemis Project employs an innovative, mission-driven approach to strategic summits, catalytic workshops, and collaborative efforts of various stakeholders focusing on two areas:

Primary Prevention:  How do we stop people from getting breast cancer in the first place?
Prevention of Metastasis:  How do we stop people from dying of breast cancer?

Artemis Project participants are scientists, clinicians, advocates, and other stakeholders, who interact through an infrastructure maintained by NBCC that allows collaborations to thrive and progress rapidly. The first Artemis Project, begun in 2011, focused on primary prevention. A strategic plan for the development of an Artemis preventive vaccine was developed and is being implemented. Initial seed grants were awarded to identify vaccine targets and begin pre-clinical work, and regular meetings occur to assess progress and readjust plans. In 2020, NBCC’s plan was accepted by the NCI PREVENT program to help advance a Phase 1 clinical trial.

Artemis Project participants continue to discuss other primary prevention topics, such as exploring aspects of the microbiome and risk stratification.

In 2014, NBCC launched the first annual meeting for the Artemis Project for the Prevention of Metastasis. The initial focus has been understanding dormant disseminated tumor cells (DTCs). We know that DTCs can “wake up” and result in distant recurrence in some individuals as many as 20 to 30 years after their initial breast cancer diagnosis. Key questions addressed at Artemis include how we intervene and prevent these delayed and distant recurrences, either by targeting and killing them or by keeping them in a dormant state. Early Artemis seed grants have demonstrated some of the mechanisms by which DTCs evade the immune system. One focus of Artemis is on identifying unique cell surface architecture that might be targetable. Another area of study is on the microenvironment that DTCs persist in and how that influences dormancy. More recently, Artemis members have also focused on other novel mechanisms for preventing metastasis.

Since 2010, Artemis Project members have become a well-integrated group, collaborating throughout the year on many of the ideas stemming from the annual Artemis meetings.

2010 : Launched an Advocate-Led Research Initiative, the Artemis Project.
2012 :  NBCC Begins to Award Seed Grants through the generous support of the Breast Cancer Fund of National Philanthropic Trust – Read more about the Artemis Project seed grants here .
2012: NBCC Awards Seed Grant to Identify Possible Vaccine Targets for Preventive Vaccine  – to Dr. Paul Spellman and Dr. Joe Gray of Oregon Health and Science University, to identify possible vaccine targets using existing and developing human genomic data within different breast cancer subtypes. The analysis generated a prioritized list of potential breast cancer-specific targets to be considered for incorporation into a preventive vaccine.
2013 :  NBCC Awards Seed Grant to Investigate Candidate Viral Causes of Breast Cancer  – to Dr. Paul Ewald, Professor of Biology and Director, Program on Disease Evolution at the University of Louisville, and Dr. Vladimir Belyi, Assistant Professor at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The researchers took a systematic look through two sets of breast cancer genomes for evidence of infectious agents.
2013: NBCC Awards Seed Grant to Identify Possible Vaccine Targets in DCIS Samples – to Dr. Gregory Hannon, Professor and HHMI Investigator at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and Dr. H. Kim Lyerly, George Barth Geller Professor of Cancer Research, Duke University School of Medicine. To look for vaccine targets in DCIS samples and to evaluate the biology of human ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) through sequencing (RNAseq).
2016 :  Pre-clinical Work begins for Artemis Project Preventive Vaccine  – Keith Knutson, Professor of Immunology, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, began pre-clinical work on the Artemis Project preventive vaccine. These efforts have resulted in a preventive vaccine development plan presented to the Food and Drug Administration in 2018, with plans for a Phase I safety trial in 2022.
2017 : NBCC Awards Seed Grant to Investigate Adaptive Immune Recognition of Dormant Disseminated Tumor Cells  – to Dr. Cyrus Ghajar, Director, Laboratory for the Study of Metastatic Microenvironments, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Dr. H. Kim Lyerly, George Barth Geller Professor of Cancer Research, Duke University School of Medicine, to determine whether the adaptive immune system can recognize and kill dormant disseminated tumor cells (DTCs), and if not, which aspect of DTC biology should be targeted to enhance T cell recognition.
2017: Launched DNA.Land to Develop Large-Scale Genetic Database for Breast Cancer Research – NBCC partnered with the New York Genome Center to develop a large-scale resource to study breast cancer. The DNA.Land project, supported by an Artemis Project seed grant, asked women and men who participated in genealogy tests to answer questions about breast cancer, including family history. This genomic data, along with answers from the breast cancer questionnaire, developed by NBCC-trained advocates and researchers, will be used to develop a large-scale database that researchers can use to identify genetic variants that impact the risk and recurrence of the disease.
2020 :  Artemis Project Preventive Vaccine Awarded Contract with NCI PREVENT Program  – NBCC’s Artemis Project Preventive Vaccine was awarded a contract with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as part of its competitive PREVENT Cancer Preclinical Drug Development Program. The PREVENT program is a peer-reviewed agent development program designed to support the pre-clinical development of innovative interventions and biomarkers for cancer prevention and interception towards clinical trials.
2020: Independent Third-Party Assessment Published on NBCC’s Work Over the Deadline 2020 Campaign – While we knew the Deadline 2020 Campaign was powerful on many levels, we thought it would be beneficial to have a Third-Party Assessment of our work. The assessment confirmed the distinctive role NBCC plays in the breast cancer community: NBCC’s systematic understanding of research and development – including the connections among policy, scientific research, patient outcomes, and institutional structures – makes NBCC and its impact unique within the field of breast cancer research and advocacy.

Artemis Project Meeting Reports

Learn more about Artemis collaborators’ bold ideas and work plans on novel approaches for preventing breast cancer and preventing metastasis.

Report from the 2023 Artemis Project® meeting
Report from the 2022 Artemis Project® meeting
Report from the 2020 Artemis Project® meeting
Report from the 2019 Artemis Project® meeting (March 8-11, 2019) Vaccine Landscape (Part 1) Vaccine Landscape (Part 2)
Report from the 2018 Artemis Project ® meeting (March 9-12, 2018)
Report from the 2017 Artemis Project® meeting (March 10-13, 2017)
Report from the 2016 Artemis Project ® meeting (March 11-14, 2016)
Artemis General Overview & Update (October 2015)
Report from the second Artemis Project ® Annual Prevention of Metastasis meeting (March 6-8, 2015)
Report from the fifth Artemis Project ® for a Preventive Vaccine meeting (March 6-8, 2015)
Report from the first Artemis Project ® Annual Prevention of Metastasis meeting (March 10-11, 2014)
Report from the fourth Artemis Project ® for a Preventive Vaccine meeting (March 7-10, 2014)
National Breast Cancer Coalition Awards Grant to Look for Vaccine Targets in DCIS Samples (November 6, 2013)
Report from the first meeting on Tumor Dormancy (June 10-11, 2013)
Report from the third Artemis Project ® for a Preventive Vaccine meeting (March 8-11, 2013)
National Breast Cancer Coalition Awards Additional Seed Grant for Preventive Breast Cancer Vaccine (February 6, 2013)
National Breast Cancer Coalition Awards Seed Grant for Preventative Breast Cancer Vaccine (October 9, 2012)
Report from the second Artemis Project ® for a Preventive Vaccine meeting (March 3-5, 2012)
Report from the first Artemis Project ® for a Preventive Vaccine meeting (April 9-11, 2011)
The Artemis Project ® Plan to Develop a Breast Cancer Preventive Vaccine: Identification of Targets & Immune System Variations (December 2011, Prepared by SAIC for NBCC)

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New study finds triple-negative breast cancer tumors with an increase in immune cells have lower risk of recurrence after surgery

Kelley Luckstein

ATHENA research project could revolutionize breast cancer treatment

But moving a promising new treatment or diagnostic technique out of the laboratory and into the clinic where it can help save lives is a long, involved process. For Tianhong Li, who joined the UC Davis Cancer Center in June as an assistant professor of medicine, it is a welcome challenge and one for which she is especially qualified.

"That's what needs to be done now," says Li, a physician-scientist who splits her time between research and clinical care. Li's job is to help spearhead the movement of new therapies and technologies developed at UC Davis into clinical trials. "It feels likes it's the right time, and I'm lucky to be in the right place."

"We want to generate a new model of treating patients." — Tianhong Li As part of Li's role in building a stronger bridge from the bench to the bedside, she is leading UC Davis' efforts in an ambitious new demonstration project — the ATHENA Breast Health Network, a multi-year, multi-center endeavor to provide the kind of boost to advances in breast cancer that the Framingham Heart Study in nurses had for cardiovascular disease.

ATHENA, launched this fall, will gather breast cancer screening, demographic, lifestyle and other information on 150,000 women from the five University of California cancer centers — Davis, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Irvine —and will follow the patients for decades. Researchers hope the data will yield a greater understanding of the biology of breast cancer, which can be integrated into clinical care so that doctors better understand who is at risk for the most serious cancers, and how they can be prevented.

"We want to generate a new model of treating patients," Li explains — one that offers a personalized approach based on a more detailed picture of the individual's disease. By demonstrating the effectiveness and efficiency of such a strategy, ATHENA leaders hope to establish a model that could be used to manage other cancer types.

"It provides a way to view patients as a whole, and it enables us to follow them over time," Li says. "The idea is really to build an infrastructure so you monitor the patient from their screening mammogram through diagnosis, treatment, and then into survivorship." The ATHENA project requires "lots of layers of groundwork," Li says, and one of the first priorities is setting up standardized systems to gather and manage the wealth of information that will be generated.

A key part of that is creating the informatics architecture for the collection of data on a massive scale. Michael Hogarth, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at UC Davis, is heading that effort.

Another goal is to establish a biospecimen repository of thousands of samples taken from women diagnosed with breast cancer at UC medical centers. The collection will include both specimens from tumors and from normal tissue adjacent to tumor. At UC Davis, that task will be directed by Regina Gandour- Edwards, professor of pathology.

That is good news to Colleen Sweeney, an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular medicine and co-director of UC Davis' breast cancer research program, who says one of the biggest challenges in her work is access to tumor specimens.

"Tumor specimens tell us if our hypotheses are valid," Sweeney says. "They are the ultimate litmus test."

A specimen can help determine, for example, whether a certain protein in breast tumors is a natural cancer fighter or if it has mutated into an oncogene that has the capacity to cause cancer.

Dr. Chew © UC Regents Helen Chew (right) "They're precious, and difficult to acquire," she says. "You need a large number of samples to make sure your results are statistically significant."

Leading ATHENA's pathology and biospecimen repository workgroup for all five campuses is Robert Cardiff, director of the Center for Genomic Pathology at UC Davis. He will be responsible for establishing common methods of managing breast tissue specimens, pathology diagnostic procedures and digital imaging of breast tissue.

Alexander Borowsky, an associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at UC Davis, is working on innovations for easier access to the specimens.

Tissue samples mounted on slides for examination under a microscope can be converted to digital images and stored in a database. But rather than downloading an entire image from a massive database, Borowsky says satellite image retrieval technology could be used to retrieve pixels on demand, displaying only a particular magnification of part of the specimen. Google uses the same kind of system to offer Web-surfers satellite views of their neighborhoods.

"Ultimately we might be able to say each patient's breast cancer is unique," Borowsky says.

The ATHENA biospecimen bank will be linked with various patient details, including whether their cancer went into remission, they developed resistance to a certain drug or their cancer recurred, for example.

"We need all this information so we can understand the impact of what we're studying on overall patient prognosis." Sweeney explains. The ATHENA network also will include a databank of mammograms and other imaging data from tens of thousands of patients.

More about UC Davis cancer research and programs

Cover of Winter 2009 Synthesis © UC Regents

"Attacking breast cancer on all fronts" also appears in Synthesis, the biannual magazine of UC Davis Cancer Center. The most recent issue explores cancer stem cells, cancer treatment during pregnancy and how treating cancer in dogs helps fight cancer in humans.

Click here to read more.

To subscribe to Synthesis, click here.

Currently, breast cancer doctors don't have good data on what types of lesions may have a high likelihood of being benign and do not require aggressive treatment. In those cases, patients can be safely followed using surveillance imaging alone.

"It would be helpful for us to know what we need to worry about, and what we can ignore," Lindfors says. "The information gathered through ATHENA will allow us to come up with standards on such lesions like we have for mammography."

The ATHENA network also will create common systems integrating data collection, management and research across the UC campuses to advance every aspect of breast cancer science.

"Any time you have important clinical questions, it's always better to pull together our heads and resources," says Helen Chew, who leads the clinical breast cancer program at UC Davis. Dealing with breast cancer requires "a multimodality approach," she adds, in which medical oncologists work closely with surgeons, radiation oncologists and imaging specialists.

"There's nothing better than getting everybody in the same room, thinking about the same problem," Sweeney adds. "I think ATHENA will create a structure for that. Bringing together people from different disciplines and enabling their collaboration is really what's going to make the difference."

Athena Breast Health Network © 2024

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Texas A&M, University Of Colorado Research Collaboration Wins Federal Grant To Help Turn Off ‘Breast Cancer Switch’

Researchers at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) and the University of Colorado Cancer Center have received a $3.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how a pair of molecules that regulate certain types of metastatic breast cancer interact with a new drug therapy.

One molecule — semaphorin 7A, or SEMA7A — appears to grant drug therapy resistance to some breast cancers; the other — single-minded two, or SIM2 — helps determine whether SEMA7A is switched on or off.

Over the next five years, the researchers hope to combine knowledge of SEMA7A and SIM2 with a new drug to help women with metastatic cancer receive more effective treatment that will prolong their lives.

How Two Molecules Make The ‘Breast Cancer Switch’

A man wearing a jacket standing with his arms crossed with a neon breast cancer awareness ribbon on the wall behind him.

“SEMA7A is a unique gene,” said Dr. Weston Porter , a professor in the VMBS’ Department of Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology and co-primary investigator on the project. “My colleague at the University of Colorado and lead PI on the grant, Dr. Traci Lyons, discovered that it’s associated with increased metastasis — or cancer spread — especially in postpartum breast cancers, which do not respond to therapy.

“We found that invasive breast cancers are associated with a loss of SIM2, which leads to an increase in the expression of SEMA7A,” he said. “So we started asking whether we could use these molecules to identify patients with metastatic breast cancer and determine the best treatment regimen to use.

“We’ve found that certain cancer drug therapies are less effective when SIM2 is lost and SEMA7A is present. However, we have identified a new drug that we believe can be used instead, and so Dr. Lyons and I are working with Dr. Virginia Borges, a professor of medical oncology at Colorado, to look at patient samples and see how this new drug might be more effective,” he said.

Postpartum breast cancers like the ones affected by SEMA7A and SIM2 are often estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancers, which represent about three-quarters of all breast cancer cases. The name means that the cancer cells have receptors — proteins on the cells — that can respond to estrogen hormones, which tell the cell to grow.

According to Lyons, there are targeted therapies for ER+ breast cancers, yet more than two-thirds of breast cancer deaths are attributed to metastatic ER+ disease, partly because of the therapy resistance promoted by SEMA7A.

“SEMA7A promotes pretty much every hallmark of cancer. It increases cell growth, cell migration, cell invasion, the ability to survive in harsh conditions — such as what a cancer cell will encounter while traveling from one site in the body to the other — and ultimately it promotes metastasis,” she said.

“When SEMA7A is on, it promotes all the things that are advantageous for the tumor and bad for the patient,” she said. “And SIM2s turns it off by preventing SEMA from being made in the first place. So, we’re looking at how we can use the switch to turn SEMA7A off.”

Getting To The Heart Of The Problem

To find out how the two molecules react to the new drug and whether it will be helpful to breast cancer patients, the team will perform laboratory tests to uncover the mechanism behind SEMA7A and SIM2’s interactions in patient samples. Then, they can correlate their findings with data showing how each patient responded to therapy and what the outcome was.

“When someone has ER+ metastatic breast cancer, they are often given a drug that targets one of the mutated proteins caused by the cancer. However, we found that a significant number of women have cancer that isn’t affected by the primary drugs used for this purpose. We wanted to know why,” Porter said.

“What we found when we looked into the details, all the way to the protein level, was that there are actually different variants of this mutated protein, and there are other drugs out there that can target these other variants,” he explained. “The new drug that we’re testing is actually already approved by the FDA for treatment of lymphomas and leukemias, and it can be used for breast cancer treatment.”

The mutated protein targeted by the drug therapies is deeply connected to SEMA7A and SIM2.

“Theoretically, if we can look at a patient’s samples and see their levels for both of these molecules, we would know what kind of treatment that they need much sooner, possibly giving them more time,” Porter said.

Media contact: Jennifer Gauntt, [email protected], 979-862-4216

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IT’S ADVANCING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF BREAST CANCER
IT’S SAVING LIVES, IMPROVING OUTCOMES
IT’S LEADING TO PREVENTION & A CURE
RESEARCH IS THE REASON STORIES
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Blog: The Progress Report
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Research is the reason

BCRF Awards $60.2M in Grants to More Than 250 Investigators Around the World

BCRF announces research projects for 2023-2024

New York, NY – Sept 27, 2023 – The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) announced its $60.2 million commitment to fund breast cancer research in 2023-2024, supporting more than 250 scientists at leading academic and medical institutions across 14 countries. BCRF-funded research spans the entire spectrum of the disease—from studying the very roots of cancer to how it spreads throughout the body. Marking its 30 th year, BCRF now stands as the largest private funder of breast cancer research—and metastatic breast cancer research—in the world.

“For 30 years, BCRF has led the charge in moving research forward,” said BCRF President & CEO Donna McKay. “Since BCRF’s founding in 1993, the scientists we support have been thinking big, taking risks, and consequently, breaking new ground. BCRF empowers the world’s most brilliant investigators to test bold new ideas. Their innovations become the basis of breakthroughs to come—advances that now arrive at ever-increasing speed. We are grateful to our supporters for making another year of groundbreaking research possible.”

“We’ve seen tremendous progress over the last three decades,” said BCRF Chief Scientific Officer Dorraya El-Ashry, PhD. “Even as we’ve made significant, lifesaving advances in understanding and treating breast cancer, it is still the leading cause of cancer incidence and cancer death in women around the world. We must continue to lead the charge in improving treatments while tackling prevention, all while seeking to ensure an equitable future for all patients to reap lifesaving benefits. At BCRF, we remain committed to cultivating a community of scientists to lead the charge on both fronts—curing and preventing breast cancer.”

Learn more about our research projects by tuning in to BCRF’s official podcast, Investigating Breast Cancer , available on all platforms, for one-on-one interviews with the world’s leading breast cancer experts. And keep up with the latest developments in breast cancer research on BCRF’s blog, The Progress Report .

BCRF funds a diverse array of researchers working across the entire spectrum of breast cancer, including in the following major focus areas:

HARNESSING THE POWER OF BIG DATA

BCRF will continue to expand our Global Data Hub , a first-of-its-kind centralized collection of breast cancer research data. The wide variety of datasets it contains, when shared with others and when coupled with state-of-the art technologies such as artificial intelligence, will dramatically expedite new studies and amplify the impact of all BCRF investments, including leading-edge investigations into metastasis.

BCRF REMAINS COMMITED TO ENSURING EQUITABLE PROGRESS

While deaths from breast cancer have declined by 43 percent over the last 30 years, the same has not held true across all U.S. populations. Most alarmingly, Black women are 40 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than white women. We are committed to addressing disparities by taking a multi-pronged approach to study the root causes of this inequity—this includes supporting a myriad of studies that examine factors from genetic and biological to environmental that impact the disparity gap. BCRF also launched a partnership with The Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation to advance our shared goal of reducing breast cancer disparities. Our Health Equity Initiative seeks to improve outcomes by addressing the complex questions regarding how multiple biological and social factors interact to influence breast cancer risk and outcomes for Black women.

BCRF IS THE LARGEST PRIVATE FUNDER OF METASTATIC RESEARCH WORLDWIDE

Each year, BCRF significantly invests in research for metastatic breast cancer (MBC), funding 83 projects this year. Studies include those to understand the basic biology of how a breast cancer cell spreads throughout the body, discover biomarkers that can predict which cancers are most likely to spread, and develop new therapies to treat and prevent metastasis.

BCRF’s AURORA projects, supported by the Evelyn H. Lauder Founder’s Fund, is the largest international effort dedicated exclusively to MBC research. This collaborative, multi-year global initiative, which studies the molecular basis of metastasis, is already yielding important and actionable insights—building blocks for the next innovations against MBC. Preliminary results from the most comprehensive molecular analysis of metastatic breast cancer have revealed changes in molecular subtypes, genomic landscape, and the immune microenvironment in metastatic tumors compared to matched primary tumors.

STUDYING THE ROOT OF ALL CANCER CELLS

Research in tumor biology is the foundation of nearly all breast cancer research and makes up more than half of BCRF’s research grants portfolio, totaling 155 projects studying cancer initiation genes and pathways, tumor growth drivers, and biomarkers. BCRF’s sustained support of research into the fundamental biology of cancer underpins the strides we’ve made in precision medicine and targeted therapies.

UNDERSTANDING INHERITED RISK OF CANCER

BCRF continues to invest in research studying genetic ancestry, family history, and more to better predict risk, with 47 projects funded this year. Studies go beyond the well-known breast cancer susceptibility genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, to understand the impact of lesser-known genes (i.e., PALB2, CHEK2, and ATM) as well as investigating how common gene mutations that alone are non-pathogenic but when combined influence inherited breast cancer risk. In addition, BCRF researchers are identifying prevention and screening strategies for individuals at high risk.

THE NEXT FRONTIER OF PREVENTION

The only way to reduce breast cancer incidence is to prevent the disease from taking root. BCRF is funding 47 projects to advance our understanding of risk factors and develop interventions to migrate the risk. Researchers are investigating how factors such as obesity and environmental exposures may impact risk, while searching for lifestyle intervention strategies to reduce risk and prevent breast cancer. Building on the success of Phase I of BCRF’s Precision Prevention Initiative (PPI), we’ve launched the project’s Phase II. To make tailored prevention strategies the new standard of care, PPI Phase II will drive inquiries into risk assessment and stratification; biomarkers that may indicate risk and prognosis; and preventative interventions beyond prophylactic surgery.

SEARCHING FOR THE MOST EFFECTIVE, TREATMENTS

BCRF investigators are leading the field in the search for new therapeutic strategies for breast cancer with 139 projects this year. BCRF investigators are seeking to improve existing therapies and advance new ones. As advances in precision medicine move us into an era where therapies are less toxic, more targeted, and more personalized, BCRF supports the refinement of technologies like liquid biopsy, immunotherapy, and antibody-drug conjugates—each of which may allow clinicians to de-escalate treatment without sacrificing efficacy.

IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE DURING AND AFTER BREAST CANCER TREATMENT

There are nearly 4 million people in the U.S. with a history of breast cancer with an estimated 168,000 people living with metastatic disease. BCRF is funding 40 projects seeking answers to the variety of physical, emotional, and psychosocial challenges faced during and after treatment, so that patients are not only living longer, but are able to live full and productive lives.

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Exceptional Project Grants

Breast Cancer Alliance invites clinical doctors and research scientists at any stage of their careers, including post docs, whose current proposal is focused on breast cancer, to apply for an Exceptional Project Grant. This award recognizes creative, unique and innovative research and is open to applicants at institutions in the contiguous United States. No for-profit institutions may apply. This is a one year grant for a total of $100,000.

The term of the Exceptional Project Grant is one year, beginning on March 1, 2025. Prior to submission of a formal grant proposal, BCA requires a Letter of Intent (LOI) and a separate CV that must be completed using the form linked here and must be submitted by midnight on March 31, 2024. The LOI must contain the applicant’s name, job title and institution, contact information, project title and hypothesis, outline the research aim(s) and methods, and include a brief discussion of the project’s potential impact. The CV should be in the current NIH biosketch format. The grant provides salary support and project costs for a total of $100,000 (distributed over the one-year period as noted above.) Indirect costs, which are included in the $100,000 award, must be limited to 8% of total direct costs.

Applicants will be informed by mid-May 2024 whether they have been invited to proceed with a formal application. Researchers should coordinate with their institutions, as BCA will accept a maximum of ONLY TWO LOIs PER INSTITUTION (YIG or XP.) References for the LOI are not required.

Full applications for the Exceptional Project Grant are due on or before midnight EDT on July 19, 2024 and are by invitation only. An Independent External Review Committee reviews and evaluates the applications. Based on their results and subsequent review by the Grants Committee, recommendations will be made to the BCA Board for final approval. Applicants will be notified by mid-February 2025 of the decision regarding their proposals. Winners must submit a midterm replrt by August 31, 2026 and a final report within 60 days of February 28, 2026. Failure to submit the midterm report will result in forfeiture of any remaining grant funds. A virtual site visit with BCA staff and supporters is also required.

For questions about the application process email: [email protected] or see the FAQ's below

**You may only submit an LOI for each proposal for either an Exceptional Project Grant or a Young Investigator Grant. It is your choice as to which application best suits your experience.

Young Investigator Grants

To encourage a commitment to breast cancer research, Breast Cancer Alliance invites clinical doctors and research scientists who are in the early stages of their careers, including post docs, whose current proposal is focused on breast cancer, to apply for funding for the Young Investigator Grant. This grant is open to applicants at institutions in the contiguous United States. No for-profit institutions may apply.This is a two-year grant for a total of $125,000, with half the grant award being paid out each year.

Applicants for the 2025 award must (i) not have held a tenure track faculty or tenure track research position for more than four years following completion of their training, as of March 1, 2025; (ii) not have been or are not a principal investigator on an NIH R01 or equivalent national/international non-mentored award as of March 1, 2025; and (iii) dedicate at least 50% of their work effort to research. This grant is intended to help advance the careers of young researchers who do not yet have their own major grant support but who design and conduct their own independent research projects .

The term of the Young Investigator Grant is two years, beginning on March 1, 2025. The grant provides salary support and project costs for a total of $125,000 (distributed over the two-year period as noted above.) Indirect costs, which are included in the $125,000 award, must be limited to 8% of total direct costs.

Prior to submission of a formal grant proposal, BCA requires a Letter of Intent (LOI) and a separate CV that must be completed using the form linked here and must be submitted by midnight on March 31, 2024. The LOI must contain the applicant’s name, job title and institution at the top of the page, and the applicant’s contact information. The document should state the project title and hypothesis, outline the research aim(s) and methods, and include a brief discussion of the project’s potential impact. The CV should be in the current NIH biosketch format.

Full applications for the Young Investigator Grant are due on or before midnight EDT on July 19, 2024 and are by invitation only. An Independent External Review Committee reviews and evaluates the applications. Based on their results and subsequent review by the Grants Committee, recommendations will be made to the BCA Board for final approval. Applicants will be notified by mid-February 2025 of the decision regarding their proposals. Winners must submit a midterm replrt by February 28, 2026 and a final report within 60 days of February 28, 2027. Failure to submit the midterm report will result in forfeiture of any remaining grant funds. A virtual site visit with BCA staff and supporters is also required.

**You may only submit an LOI for each proposal for either an Exceptional Project Grant or a Young Investigator Grant. It is your choice as to which application best suits your experience.

FAQs about Research Applications

Exceptional Project Applicants:

Question: Are Exceptional Projects open to clinical doctors and research scientists at any stage of their careers, including postdoctoral fellows?

Answer: Yes

Question: Is it permitted to have more than one PI on an Exceptional Project?

Question: If we submit with multi-PI’s, would we need a letter of support from both department heads?

Answer: If more than one individual will be formally listed as a PI on the project, and they are from different institutions, then a someone authorized to speak on behalf of the institution in terms of committing to support, and who has direct knowledge of the status and qualifications of the PI, should each sign off on behalf of his/her respective institution.

Question: Are there any specific eligibility requirements regarding the subject matter of the project and additional funding sources? For example, if I am working on a project that is partially funded by another source, would it be possible to apply for the BCA Exceptional Project Grant to cover a component of the project (for example, sequencing studies) that is not currently included in the budget of any other awarded grant?

Answer: There is no limitation on the subject matter of the project as long as it is reasonably related to the treatment, prevention or cure of breast cancer. However, the proposed project should be an exceptional project that can stand alone. Existing funding for a related aspect of the proposed project is not in itself disqualifying, but we would not, for example, consider the payment for sequencing studies in an otherwise funded project to be eligible for an exceptional project grant.

Question: Can affiliated institutions with separate DUNS numbers submit more than 2 applications?

Answer: If multiple affiliated institutions within a university or health care system each have separate DUNS numbers, each can submit up to 2 applications total, XP or YIG.

Young Investigator Grants:

Question: Are postdoctoral fellows eligible to apply for this award?

Answer: Yes, as long as they meet all the stated eligibility criteria for a Young Investigator. They must also provide a letter of support from their institution confirming that they will have institutional resources available to them throughout the two-year term of the grant.

Question: Is an LOI required for this type of grant?

Question: If an applicant for the Young Investigator Grant is currently funded by the R00 phase of an NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, are they eligible to apply?

General and Application-related questions:

Question: What is the preferred format for submission of a full application?

Answer: The application should be submitted through the link on this page with all required components included in the document. Some individuals providing reference letters on behalf of an applicant prefer to send those separately; if this is the case, please let the Research Grants team know that a letter of reference will be arriving separately from the application.

Question: Is there a preferred format for the biohazards, human investigation and laboratory animal statements required for the application?

Answer: There content of each required statement should follow the NIH requirements for the corresponding statements.

Question: Do you require a hard copy of the application to accompany the emailed copy?

Answer: No, but the electronic submission must be submitted by the deadline date or it will not be considered for funding.

Question: Do you need to be a US citizen to apply for a BCA grant?

Answer: You do not have to be a US citizen to apply, but you must be affiliated with a US institution at which the grant project will be carried out.

Question: Does being a reviewer on BCA’s External Review Committee make you ineligible to submit an application for an Exceptional Project grant?

Answer: Being a current reviewer is not disqualifying for submission of an LOI or application, but an individual who is submitting an LOI, or is invited to submit a full application based on an LOI, would not be eligible to serve as a reviewer during the time his/her LOI or application are pending review.

Screening and Support Services Grants

Breast Cancer Alliance offers grants to providers that conduct screening and diagnostic breast cancer services for the underserved: screening and diagnostic mammograms, biopsies, ultrasounds and MRIs. The programs must be located in Connecticut and/or in Westchester County, New York. The term of the Screening and Support Services Grant is one calendar year beginning April 1. Breast Cancer Alliance does not fund patient counseling, patient navigation, office supplies, medical supplies, financial aid (i.e. gas bills, transportation, rent, overhead, grocery gift certificates, fringe benefits, etc.) printing costs, travel costs, marketing costs, recruitment costs or training programs.

Regular applications are due by on or before midnight on December 11, 2024 .
Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.
Funding is determined on an annual basis, per each grant cycle. Prior gift allocations do not guarantee future grants.
Grant recipients must submit the required midterm report by October 1, 2024 and a final report by April 30, 2025 .
Any publicity associated with the program must acknowledge Breast Cancer Alliance as a supporter as much as is reasonably possible.

The Grants Committee of Breast Cancer Alliance reviews and evaluates each grant proposal. The results of the Grants Committee’s evaluations and subsequent recommendations are presented to the BCA Board for approval. Applicants are notified by March 2025 of the decision regarding their proposals.

The 2023 final report template is available here.

The 2024 midterm report template is available here and due no later than October 1, 2024.

The 2024 final report template is available here and due no later than April 30, 2025.

The 2025 application is available here . If you would like a pdf for drafting purposes, please email [email protected]

For questions about any education and outreach grants please email: [email protected]

Breast Surgery Fellowships

The term of the Breast Surgical Fellowship is one year with a grant award of $75,000, from August 1 through July 31. Institutions making application for the 2024 award must have an established breast fellowship program, be SSO accredited for a minimum of 2 years, and be located in Connecticut, New Jersey or New York.

Any publicity associated with this program and any papers published in association with the work done during or as a result of this fellowship must recognize the Breast Cancer Alliance. Institutions should only put forth applicants who are US citizens, are a MD, and have successfully completed a general surgery residency at a US medical center. No more than one CV may be submitted for consideration per institution, and no more than one fellowship will be awarded to any individual SSO accredited institution. For questions about fellowship funding please email: [email protected] . Applications are due on or before midnight on December 1, 2024 and should include two references to accompany the candidates CV . Applications after the deadline will not be considered. Applicants will be notified by March 2025 of the decision regarding their proposals.

The 2025 application is not yet available.

Komen Tissue Bank co-founder: ‘We’re going to make a big difference’ in breast cancer research

Thanks to more than 5,000 women and men who donated breast tissue to the Kome n Tissue Bank at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center , researchers are making progress to better understand and find a cure for breast cancer.

Dr. Anna Maria Storniolo co-founded the Komen Tissue Bank at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The tissue bank, the world’s only biorepository for normal breast tissue, started with an idea sparked by the annual Amelia Project conference in Indianapolis in 2004.

“One of the scientists got up and said, ‘I’m really close to getting the answer I need, but I need some normal breast tissue as the control.’ And the conference presenter looked at her and said, ‘Well you’re going to wait a long time for that because it doesn’t exist,’” said Dr. Anna Maria Storniolo, an oncologist at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. “So I’m sitting there next to a dear friend and patient advocate, Connie Rufenbarger, and she would not let this go. She said, ‘What do you mean we don’t have normal breast tissue? All you have to do is ask women to have a breast biopsy.’”

The trick was finding out whether women would be willing to make such breast biopsy donations. Storniolo first polled people at one of her children’s soccer games to see if it was possible.

“One Saturday I’m out on the field and I just said, ‘I’m going to do this,’ and I walked around and asked about 10 to 15 women, that I made sure I did not know, if they would have a breast biopsy for breast cancer research,” Storniolo said. “Everybody but one said yes.”

Storniolo and Rufenbarger started with doing blood drives for research use, and after a few small breast tissue collection events, their idea for the Komen Tissue Bank officially became a reality in 2007. Seventeen years later, normal tissue samples from the bank are being used in 216 research projects around the world and have led to more than 90 published breast cancer research manuscripts.

Connie Rufenbarger, left, and Dr. Anna Maria Storniolo at a Komen Tissue Bank donation event in 2010. Photo provided by the Kom...

“What we’ve learned thus far is that the normal breast tissue in women of African descent differs from the Northern European women, differs from Asian women, differs from Native American women,” Storniolo said.

“In several of those cases there are clear links to pathways that are accentuated in the normal breast and then changed in their cancer. That leads us to really emphasize the importance of the Komen Tissue Bank because we’re looking at normal breast tissue to find the clues and cues to what happens when it becomes abnormal and cancerous. You need to start with normal. You can’t know abnormal if you don’t know normal.”

In her 30 years of breast cancer work, Storniolo said, it has also become more common for young people to be diagnosed with breast cancer . The youngest patient she treated for cancer was 19 years old. More have been in their 20s, and an even greater number have been younger than 40.

“The devastating thing is it has the capability of completely altering their lives,.” Storniolo said. “In general, younger women tend to develop more aggressive breast cancers at more advanced stages. In addition, women with familial genetic abnormalities develop breast cancer at a younger age.

“As you can imagine, you’re 19; it interrupts your education, and it changes relationships. It’s hard, and it breaks your heart.”

That’s why donations to the Komen Tissue Bank are crucial . When volunteers come to donate, information from their individual medical history and from their healthy breast tissue inform the research and make treatments possible.

The donation process is simple. Women and men ages 18 and older can participate in the organization’s tissue collection events, at least one of which is held every year at the cancer center in downtown Indianapolis. Participants sign up for an appointment, and the process takes 60 to 90 minutes total.

Donors start by filling out paperwork, then small vials of blood are taken before they extract the tissue in an examination room. Storniolo was the first to donate breast tissue to the tissue bank and donated again a few years later.

“We make a little nick in your skin, but the area is numbed first so it won’t be felt. You are likely to bruise a bit, though,” Storniolo said.

The tissue bank will hold its next breast tissue donation event April 27 at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center in Indianapolis. Those interested in donating can make an appointment or email [email protected] for more information or to ask any questions.

“The Komen Tissue Bank allows women to be actively part of the solution,” Storniolo said. “These women understand that their tissue is going to make a difference and get us a cure faster. You don’t have to be a millionaire and give enough money to fund a building; you can give a little piece of yourself, which in many ways is much more precious.

“When a huge breakthrough is made in breast cancer and we actually crack the code, the women and men in Indiana are going to be able to say, ‘I helped do that.’ It’s been incredibly rewarding, and I think we’re going to make a huge difference.”

Komen Tissue Bank staff at one of the bank's tissue donation event. Photo provided by the Komen Tissue Bank

Elizabeth Cotter

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Scientists discover how breast cancer cells become dormant and evade treatment

S cientists have discovered how breast cancer cells can evade treatment by “hibernating” and then “wake up” years later – causing a relapse that is more difficult to treat.

Researchers from The Institute of Cancer Research in London have uncovered the mechanism by which the hormone treatment used to prevent breast cancer from returning triggers changes in some cancer cells, causing them to “hibernate” instead of dying off.

But scientists say there may be a way to target these “sleeping” breast cancer cells before they wake up, offering new hope for patients with oestrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer – which makes up 80% of all breast cancers.

Luca Magnani, professor of epigenetic plasticity at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: “After surgery to remove primary oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer, patients are given five to 10 years of hormone therapy which aims to kill any remaining cancer cells.

“We know that this doesn’t work for all patients though, as their breast cancer can return years, or even decades later.

“We wanted to better understand why breast cancer does return so we can hopefully find ways to stop it – so people don’t have to live in fear or face the devastating news of a relapse.

“Our research identified a key mechanism used by cancer cells to evade therapy by remaining in a dormant state, hibernating before they ‘wake up’ years later and begin to rapidly divide again.

“I hope our early findings will next lead to research to target these dormant breast cancer cells so that one day, without the need for years of hormone therapy, patients can be sure that their cancer will not return.”

ER positive breast cancer is sensitive to the hormone estrogen, which means its cells divide and grow with the help of this hormone.

Treatment often involves a combination of different therapies and surgery, usually tailored to the patient’s needs.

For their study, published in the journal Cancer Discovery, researchers looked at the role of an enzyme known as G9a.

They found that inhibiting G9a prevented cancer cells from becoming dormant and killed the cells that were already hibernating.

Dr Tayyaba Jiwani, science engagement manager at Cancer Research UK – which funded the research, said: “Breast cancer survival has doubled in the UK over the last 50 years thanks to better detection and screening, but there are still more than 11,000 deaths from this type of cancer every year.

“Our research has made it increasingly clear that cancer cells can lie dormant in the body for many years before being triggered to reawaken, causing cancer to return.

“This study uses an innovative approach to analyse the genetics of these dormant cells and gain important insight into the mechanisms leading to dormancy.

“Although at an early stage, the findings reveal potential new targets for the development of innovative treatments that prevent breast cancer from coming back.”

Research uncovers how to target ‘sleeping’ breast cancer cells and prevent relapse

IMAGES

(PDF) Detection and classification of breast cancer based-on Terahertz
ML Project: Breast Cancer Detection Using Machine Learning Classifier
Metastatic Breast Cancer Project: Patient-Driven Research
Poster Presentation
Breast cancer essay paper. Breast Cancer Research Papers. 2022-10-28
4 Breakthroughs in Breast Cancer Treatment

COMMENTS

Advances in Breast Cancer Research
The Confluence Project, from NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG), is developing a research resource that includes data from thousands of breast cancer patients and controls of different races and ethnicities. This resource will be used to identify genes that are associated with breast cancer risk, prognosis, subtypes ...
HOME
The Time Is Now--. support the Pink Eraser Project. Every 14 seconds, somewhere in the world, someone is diagnosed with breast cancer. Your donation will accelerate safe, effective breast cancer vaccines for all people. Help us streamline the pipeline.
Breast Cancer Research
Our Research Now. NBCF supports research projects to study and improve existing programs in order to help improve quality of life for metastatic breast cancer patients and their caregivers as well as increase access to knowledge, resources, and training for patient navigators. NBCF funds the following research projects:
Breast Cancer Research Foundation
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation is dedicated to ending breast cancer by advancing the world's most promising research. This year, BCRF is the largest private funder of breast cancer research—and metastatic breast cancer research—worldwide and is the highest-rated breast cancer research organization in the country. Learn More Donate.
Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center Research
The principal investigator and director of the Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer SPORE is Matthew P. Goetz, M.D.. Dr. Goetz received the SPORE's first Career Enhancement Award in 2005.He became co-leader of a SPORE research project in 2009 and became co-principal investigator of the SPORE in 2014. He became the overall principal investigator and director in 2018.
Omitting Axillary Dissection in Breast Cancer with Sentinel-Node
Supported by the Swedish Research Council (grant numbers, 2015-00760 and 2021-02128), the Swedish Cancer Society (grant numbers, CAN 2015/437 and 22 2061 Pj), the Nordic Cancer Union (grant ...
Breast Cancer Research Highlights
Breast Cancer Research Highlights. The American Cancer Society (ACS) helps people with breast cancer in every community. Our research programs have played a role in many of the prevention, screening, and treatment advances that save lives from breast cancer today. And, we continue to fund research to help save even more lives in the future.
BCRF Awards Grants to 255 Investigators Around the World
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation announces research projects for 2022-2023. New York, NY - Sept 30, 2022 - The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) announced its $52.7 million commitment to fund breast cancer research in 2022-23, supporting 255 scientists at leading academic and medical institutions across 14 countries. BCRF-funded research spans the entire spectrum of the disease ...
The PARTNER trial of neoadjuvant olaparib in triple-negative breast cancer
PARTNER is a prospective, phase II-III, randomised controlled clinical trial, which recruited patients with Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC)1,2, who were gBRCA wild type (gBRCAwt)3. Patients ...
Research projects
The Breast Cancer Now Catalyst Programme promotes innovation and excellence in breast cancer research, through collaboration in the UK and across Europe. Right now, we're funding over 80 cutting-edge projects worth just over £29 million to discover how we can prevent breast cancer, save lives, and help people to live well with and beyond the ...
BCRF's Precision Prevention Initiative to Support 8 Innovative New Projects
In the U.S., where breast cancer has been the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women for many years, the American Cancer Society estimates that there will be over 310,000 new cases of breast cancer and more than 42,000 deaths in 2024 alone. With incidences rising, preventing and intercepting breast cancer is more important than ever.
Our research projects
Mental health problems, remote living, socio-economic status and other inequalities can all have an impact on breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. A team from Queen's University Belfast led by Professor Chris Cardwell and Dr Charlene McShane are investigating this impact on people with breast cancer in Northern Ireland. 1.
Confluence Project for Breast Cancer Genetics
The Confluence project will develop a large research resource to uncover breast cancer genetics through genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The resource will include at least 300,000 breast cancer cases and 300,000 controls of different races/ethnicities. This will be accomplished by the confluence of existing GWAS and new genome-wide ...
Artemis Project®
Originally created as the research component of NBCC's Breast Cancer Deadline 2020® initiative, the Artemis Project® is an advocate-led collaboration of researchers and advocates that develops and implements research action plans to address overarching issues in breast cancer. The Artemis Project employs an innovative, mission-driven ...
What is our research about?
What is our research about? To date, we've already invested over £268 million in breast cancer research. And we're not about to stop. Right now, we're funding over 70 cutting-edge projects worth just over £24 million to discover how we can prevent breast cancer, save lives, and help people to live well with and beyond the disease.
Breast Cancer Research Program, Congressionally Directed Medical
Vision - A world without breast cancer. The BCRP challenges the scientific community to design research that will address the urgency of ending breast cancer. Specifically, the BCRP seeks to accelerate high-impact research with clinical relevance, encourage innovation and stimulate creativity, and facilitate productive collaborations.
New study finds triple-negative breast cancer tumors with an increase
ROCHESTER, Minn. — A new multicenter, international study suggests that people who have early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and high levels of immune cells within their tumors may have a lower risk of recurrence and better survival rates even when not treated with chemotherapy. The study was published today in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA).
The Metastatic Breast Cancer Project
The Metastatic Breast Cancer Project is a groundbreaking initiative that empowers patients to share their genomic data and medical records with researchers, to accelerate the discovery of new treatments for metastatic breast cancer. Learn how you can join and contribute to this patient-driven research.
Breast Cancer
Adult weight gain and excess body fat increase risk for post-menopausal breast cancer. Alcoholic drinks increase the risk of post- and pre-menopausal breast cancers. Regular vigorous physical activity reduces the risk of both post- and pre-menopausal breast cancers. Moderate physical activity reduces the risk of post-menopausal breast cancer.
ATHENA research project could revolutionize breast cancer treatment
All. ATHENA research project could revolutionize breast cancer treatment. Doctors, scientists and patients are finding many reasons to be hopeful in the fight against breast cancer, as researchers at UC Davis and elsewhere figure out new ways of detecting and fighting the disease, the most common cancer in women.
Current research
Breast Cancer UK has awarded a grant of £43,360 to Dr Elisabete Silva and colleagues, Drs Ruth MacKay, Sibylle Ermler and Emmanouil Karteris, Brunel University London, to fund research that examines the role of EDCs and saturated fatty acids on early stages of breast cancer. The project began in February 2020 and will finish February 2022.
Studying communication between cancer-associated fibroblasts and breast
Studying communication between cancer-associated fibroblasts and breast cancer cells to identify druggable vulnerabilities. Jarde, Thierry (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)) ... Project: Research. Overview; Equipment (6) Project Details Status: Active: Effective start/end date: 6/04/24 → 5/04/27: View all.
Texas A&M, University Of Colorado Research Collaboration Wins Federal
"SEMA7A is a unique gene," said Dr. Weston Porter, a professor in the VMBS' Department of Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology and co-primary investigator on the project. "My colleague at the University of Colorado and lead PI on the grant, Dr. Traci Lyons, discovered that it's associated with increased metastasis — or cancer spread — especially in postpartum breast cancers ...
BCRF Awards $60.2M in Grants to More Than 250 Investigators Around the
BCRF announces research projects for 2023-2024. New York, NY - Sept 27, 2023 - The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) announced its $60.2 million commitment to fund breast cancer research in 2023-2024, supporting more than 250 scientists at leading academic and medical institutions across 14 countries. BCRF-funded research spans the entire spectrum of the disease—from studying the ...
Softer tumors fuel more aggressive spread of triple-negative breast
The research suggests that drugs targeting this altered cancer cell metabolism could boost treatments for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. "Our research suggests triple-negative breast ...
How to Apply for Breast Cancer Alliance Grants
This is a one year grant for a total of $100,000. The term of the Exceptional Project Grant is one year, beginning on March 1, 2025. Prior to submission of a formal grant proposal, BCA requires a Letter of Intent (LOI) and a separate CV that must be completed using the form linked here and must be submitted by midnight on March 31, 2024.
Komen Tissue Bank co-founder: 'We're going to make a big difference' in
Seventeen years later, normal tissue samples from the bank are being used in 216 research projects around the world and have led to more than 90 published breast cancer research manuscripts. Connie Rufenbarger, left, and Dr. Anna Maria Storniolo at a Komen Tissue Bank donation event in 2010.
Metformin may help the immune system better identify breast cancer cells
The research is published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. Metformin is a widely prescribed drug for managing type 2 diabetes. In recent years, indications of its potential anticancer ...
Scientists discover how breast cancer cells become dormant and ...
Dr Tayyaba Jiwani, science engagement manager at Cancer Research UK - which funded the research, said: "Breast cancer survival has doubled in the UK over the last 50 years thanks to better ...