New Clinical Trial Aims to Genomically Personalize Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer
Moffitt Cancer Center stays on the cutting edge of cancer therapies. Our breast cancer patients have access to the latest treatments and technologies that improve the effectiveness of therapies, minimize invasiveness and conserve healthy breast tissue.
In a new clinical trial led by principal investigator Dr. Kamran Ahmed, Moffitt breast oncologists are testing the feasibility of an in-house developed radiation signature for the first time. The actively enrolling clinical trial explores a new form of genomically guided radiation therapy (RT) to treat triple-negative breast cancer following breast conservation surgery.
Current Standard of Care for Triple Negative Breast Cancer Patients
Triple-negative breast cancer accounts for 10-15% of all breast cancer cases and is characterized by the absence of three hormone receptors—estrogen, progesterone, and the HER2 protein—normally found in healthy breast cells.
Due to the lack of these hormone receptors, hormone-based therapy and HER2-targeted therapy is ineffective for triple-negative breast cancer. Following breast conservation surgery, radiation therapy is the standard treatment. The current standard of care is to deliver radiation therapy dosing in a one-size-fits-all approach. This could mean that some tumors are treated with not enough radiation while others are treated with too much radiation.
Understanding Genomically Guided Radiation and its Benefits
Within breast cancer, there is a spectrum of tumor biology doctors can measure to inform radiation dose and maximize its clinical efficacy. Moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach, cancer care teams are customizing radiotherapy for triple-negative breast cancer patients using these unique tumor biomarkers to determine the corresponding radiation dose prescription.
The current clinical trial seeks to tailor radiation therapy to the unique biology of the tumor using genomically guided treatment.
Clinical Trial Goals and Enrollment
Dr. Ahmed’s phase 2 trial aims to determine the feasibility of genomically guided RT in patients with triple-negative breast cancer undergoing breast conservation therapy. Using Moffitt’s gene expression-based radiosensitivity index (RSI), patient tumor tissue is tested to calculate the risk of cancer recurrence and determine the amount of RT patients should receive following breast conservation therapy.
Important clinical trials such as this study, advance treatments and improve patient outcomes. Moffitt’s outcomes are up to four times higher than national averages due in part to groundbreaking studies expanding options and increasing the efficacy of cancer treatments. Our triple-negative breast cancer specialists hope to use genomically guided RT to continue improving patient results.
Healthcare providers can recommend this clinical trial to recently diagnosed triple-negative breast cancer patients who are undergoing breast conservation therapy and meet eligibility criteria, (clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT05528133).
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