Aspirin and genetic testing aras for breast cancer research

Aspirin and genetic testing are hot areas for breast cancer research

New research grants will bring better understanding of breast cancer genetics into patient care

– aspirin and genetic testing are hot areas for breast cancer research

The NZ Breast Cancer Foundation has committed to fund two innovative research projects, worth $200,000 each, in conjunction with the Health Research Council and Breast Cancer Cure.

New test aims to identify patients most likely to benefit from genetic screening for breast cancer

Dr Logan Walker at the University of Otago has been awarded $197,000 to develop a new method of identifying the patients most likely to benefit from screening for one of the cancer-causing BRCA gene mutations (Angelina Jolie is probably the best-known bearer of the BRCA1 mutation). Current genetic testing is expensive and arguably inefficient, returning few positive results for the number of women screened. Dr Logan’s team believes their new tissue analysis procedure will enable patients to be accurately prioritised for genetic testing, and will allow for better evaluation of test results. Potentially, the study will also be applicable to some sporadic (non-BRCA) breast cancers that may respond to BRCA-targeted drugs.

“It was fantastic to hear about the funding result,” said Dr Walker, who is currently overseas attending meetings focused on high risk breast and ovarian cancer families. “With this study, NZ will continue to play a vital role in improving international best practice in genetic screening for breast cancer.”

Can aspirin improve response to anti-oestrogen therapy?

Dr Anita Dunbier at the University of Otago is currently running a clinical trial (also funded by the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation and its partners) to establish whether the addition of aspirin can improve patient response to anti-oestrogen therapies (used to treat the most common form of breast cancer, ER+ breast cancer, which affects two-thirds of patients). A new grant of $200,000 will take the study a step further: Dr Dunbier’s team will analyse the molecular changes that occur during treatment with aspirin and anti-oestrogen drugs, such as tamoxifen. Their analysis will indicate whether aspirin is likely to help patients in the long term, and will define biomarkers to identify which patients will benefit most.

“We know that some patients don’t respond to drugs like tamoxifen, but we don’t always know why,” Dr Dunbier says. “We’re hoping that our trial will show that aspirin can help target inflammation in the tumour to improve the effectiveness of the anti-oestrogen therapy. This additional funding will allow us to see exactly how that’s happening. We have already had strong interest from researchers and clinicians from other parts of the world in this work.”

Both Dr Walker’s and Dr Dunbier’s studies have been funded through the Breast Cancer Research in New Zealand initiative, which is now in its second year of funding and is a joint partnership between the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation (NZBCF), Breast Cancer Cure (BCC), and the Health Research Council (HRC).

“Pooling our research funds means we can fund larger, more significant studies,” said Evangelia Henderson, chief executive at the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation. “We’re very excited about the work being done at Otago University, and are glad to be advancing the use of genetic analysis in patient care.”

ENDS

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