Your December breast cancer round-up

Every month we gather the most recent developments in breast cancer research and treatments, and the latest industry news. Here’s your update for December.

Breaking news: MammaTyper? progesterone test screens out further genomic testing for most patients

A seminal study presented at San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) last week showed that progesterone receptor testing could predict tumour gene expression results and independently identify tumours that are unlikely to be chemotherapy sensitive. This could screen out further genomic testing for up to 70% of patients with ER+ breast cancer, saving a significant amount of time and money.

We spoke to Dr Ralph Wirtz, a co-author of the study and one of the original developers of MammaTyper?, to get his thoughts on the most interesting points from the study for pathologists and oncologists.

Breast cancer research round-up

New insights into breast cancer invasion revealed: Researchers from Stanford University have shown how cells work together to collectively break through the basement membrane: the matrix around the breast duct. Published in Nature Materials, increased knowledge of how cancer cells act collectively, and the mechanical forces they apply, has the potential to lead to new treatments to prevent this invasion.

AI detects up to 13% more tumours in mammograms than humans alone: An artificial intelligence (AI) tool acts as a “safety net” to prevent subtle tumours in mammograms from being missed, the tool’s developers say. The prospective real-world study in Hungary used the AI tool, called Mia, alongside human radiologists, and increased the relative detection rate by up to 13%.

Breast cancer in the news

Anastrozole approved for prevention in England: Anastrozole received licensing as a preventative measure in England last month by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA). According to recent trials, the aromatase inhibitor has the potential to reduce the incidence of breast cancer by nearly 50% in post-menopausal women at moderate or high risk.

Enhertu not recommended for HER2-low breast cancer in England: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has announced it will not recommend the use of trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu) for treating advanced HER2-low breast cancer in England. For us, this disappointing announcement underlines the need for better testing of HER2-low status. Earlier in the year on our blog, we looked at whether IHC is reliable enough anymore for HER2-testing.

First-in-class AKT inhibitor approved by FDA: In more positive news, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved capivasertib for treating ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer with specific gene alterations (PIK3CA, AKT1 or PTEN gene mutations) that has progressed after standard treatments. Trial results have shown that the drug doubled the time it took for cancer to progress. Approval in Europe or the UK could be next, according to a news article about capivasertib’s approval by the Institute for Cancer Research in London.

What has Cerca Biotech been up to?

San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: Rich and Lucy from Cerca Biotech attended SABCS to introduce MammaTyper? to even more experts, clinicians, and scientists.

MEDICA: In November, Rich and Vinicio attended MEDICA conference, and met over 50 interested visitors and potential distributors at the Cerca Biotech stand.

We are looking for distributors and clinicians interested in running studies with MammaTyper? - if you can help, please contact us at [email protected]?

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