Study opens new prospects for developing new targeted therapies for breast cancer

A study led by prominent breast cancer experts from Europe and the US has revealed a number of potentially important prospects for targeted therapies, and brings opportunities of truly personalised therapy for breast cancer a step closer, researchers said at the 5th IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference in Brussels, Belgium.

The IMPAKT meeting presents cutting edge, 'translational' breast cancer research that is beginning to have an impact for patients.

This current study was led by Dr Martine Piccart, Director of Medicine at the Jules Bordet Institute in Brussels, and Dr Jose Baselga, Associate Director at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.

The researchers used modern sequencing technology to characterise the genetic aberrations of cancer genes present in tumour samples from a well-defined cohort of advanced postmenopausal patients who were enrolled in the BOLERO-2 clinical trial.

"The results of this study generated hypotheses for developing more rational targeted therapy combinations based on the specific genetic aberrations present in each individual tumour," Dr Piccart said.

"This work, together with previous works published last year, highlights again the genetic heterogeneity of breast cancer. These results show that tumours that may look very similar at the clinical level, can be genetically very different, suggesting that they may require different treatment strategies."

- About 1 in 8 U.S. women (just under 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.

- In 2011, an estimated 230,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 57,650 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.

- About 2,140 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed in men in 2011. A man’s lifetime risk of breast cancer is about 1 in 1,000.

- From 1999 to 2005, breast cancer incidence rates in the U.S. decreased by about 2% per year. The decrease was seen only in women aged 50 and older. One theory is that this decrease was partially due to the reduced use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by women after the results of a large study called the Women’s Health Initiative were published in 2002. These results suggested a connection between HRT and increased breast cancer risk.

- About 39,520 women in the U.S. were expected to die in 2011 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1990 - especially in women under 50. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.

- For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, besides lung cancer.