NEW RESEARCH TO ADDRESS POORER OUTCOMES OF YOUNG WOMEN WITH EARLY BREAST CANCER

Young women with breast cancer have a higher rate of recurrence and death from breast cancer, and the reasons for this are until now unknown. Outcomes for young women can vary according to breast cancer subtype, but it has been demonstrated to be particularly worse in patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancers.

Hormone receptor-positive breast cancer makes up 70% of all breast cancers. The standard treatment for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer is surgery, followed by hormone treatment. Patients may also require chemotherapy. However, despite these effective treatments, breast cancer occurring in younger women is more likely to come back. Researchers don’t know exactly why this happens, but one reason could be the presence of tumour cells which are HRD-positive.

HRD-positive means that there is a particular defect in the way that the tumour cells repair their DNA. This could make the tumour more sensitive to treatment with a medication called olaparib or a combination of olaparib and another medication, durvalumab.

Olaparib further blocks the tumour’s DNA repair process, so that cancer cells are unable to repair the damage and are destroyed. Olaparib kills tumour cells more efficiently when they are HRD-positive. Tumour cell death as a result of Olaparib may also increase the body’s immune response. Durvalumab in combination with Olaparib may enhance the body’s immune system to fight the cancer. Researchers want to see if using olaparib and durvalumab together will make the treatment more effective.

The study will be conducted by Breast Cancer Trials, the largest independent clinical trials research group in Australia and New Zealand. It has received support from the Federal Government’s Medical Research Future Fund’s Rare Cancers, Rare Diseases and Unmet Needs clinical trials initiative. The study has also received support from SOPHiA GENETICS, to help identify potential trial participants, through the use of the HRD solution on the SOPHiA DDM(TM) Platform.

The OLIO study will be open at 21 sites in Australia and will recruit 50 participants.

Study Chair of the OLIO clinical trial, Dr Stephen Luen, says the research may identify a new and improved treatment for young women with breast cancer.

“This research is looking at the unique biological features of these women and how this knowledge can help us improve treatments and ultimately improve outcomes,” Dr Luen said.

“The study will evaluate a specific diagnostic and therapeutic approach for young women with early stage HR+ breast cancer who are premenopausal.

“Young women often have more aggressive breast cancers and lower survival rates, and the only way we can address this is to do this vital research.”

The OLIO clinical trial also aims to collect a rich bank of biological specimens which will further inform other research possibilities in young women in the future.

Founded in 1978, Breast Cancer Trials conducts a multicentre national and international clinical trials research program, into the treatment and prevention of breast cancer. This involves more than 980 researchers in 118 institutions across Australia and New Zealand.

For more information about Breast Cancer Trials, visit www.breastcancertrials.org.au.

Contact: BCT Communications Manager, Anna Fitzgerald – 0400 304 224 or anna.fitzgerald@bctrials.org.au

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