$4.9M FOR RESEARCH TO ADDRESS POORER OUTCOMES IN YOUNG WOMEN
11/2/2022
$4.9m For New Research To Address Poorer Outcomes of Young Women with Hormone Receptor-Positive, HER2 Negative Early Breast Cancer
A project that aims to better understand the biology and treatment of young women with breast cancer has received $4.9 million in funding from the Australian Government.
The funding is part of the Medical Research Future Fund’s Rare Cancers, Rare Diseases and Unmet Needs clinical trials initiative, which supports high quality research, and novel and innovative treatments.
The project will include a new clinical trial called OLIO, that is specifically designed for young women with breast cancer. OLIO will be coordinated in Australia by Breast Cancer Trials and aims to address the poor outcomes of young women with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer. In addition, a new pathology test that will help identify specific biological features from the patient’s tumor sample, will be developed by investigators from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
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 relatively worse in patients with HR+HER2- breast cancers, where molecular testing has identified evidence of homologous recombination deficiency.
A genomic analysis of 1,293 breast cancer samples diagnosed from young premenopausal women has identified a new drug target that may improve their outcomes.
Professor Sherene Loi, Medical Oncologist and Lab Head at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and Study Chair of OLIO, says the study will evaluate these new therapies.
“The only way we can improve outcomes for this group of young women with low breast cancer survival rates, is to conduct clinical trials where we are focusing on specific biological features unique to these women,” Professor Loi said.
“The OLIO trial will evaluate a specific diagnostic and therapeutic approach for young women with early-stage HR+ breast cancer who are premenopausal.”
“If successful, the trial could deliver an improved approach to treatment of breast cancer in young women, who have a high risk of relapse and death from breast cancer, and improved patient outcomes.”
This project 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 820 researchers in 109 institutions across Australia and New Zealand.
Contact: BCT Communications Manager, Anna Fitzgerald – 0400 304 224 or anna.fitzgerald@bctrials.org.au
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