PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Prognostic value of molecular classification in metastatic breast cancer confirmed

In addition, the classification enables the prediction of the benefits of a cell cycle inhibitor

Prognostic value of molecular classification in metastatic breast cancer confirmed
2021-03-29
(Press-News.org) Barcelona researchers at the Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS Research Institute, the University of Barcelona and the SOLTI academic cancer research group have shown that the molecular classification of breast cancer, which divides it into four subtypes (Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2-enriched and Basal-like) is useful for predicting the benefits of treatment in patients with advanced hormone-sensitive breast cancer. This is the largest study to have shown the value of the biomarker, and the first to do so in the context of a CDK4/6 inhibitor like ribociclib.

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), was coordinated by Professor Aleix Prat, head of the Medical Oncology Service at the Hospital Clínic and of the IDIBAPS Translational genomics and targeted therapies in solid tumours group, professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Barcelona, and president of SOLTI.

Breast cancer affects 2.3 million people and causes 571,000 deaths each year. Hormone-sensitive cancer represents 70% of all cases of breast cancer. When the disease is at an early stage, local treatment, chemotherapy and hormone treatment for 5-10 years have shown great long-term benefits in terms of survival. Nevertheless, around 20-40% of all patients end up developing metastasis during the follow-up period. In this context, survival is compromised and biomarkers and specific treatments are required.

Over the last few years, new therapies for advanced hormone-sensitive breast cancer have been incorporated, such as the introduction of new inhibitors of CDK4/6, a key protein in the cell cycle. "The recent introduction of CDK4/6 inhibitors such as ribociclib has improved the survival rates of patients with advanced hormone-sensitive breast cancer. However, this disease is clinical and biologically heterogeneous, and at least 4 molecular subtypes can be identified. Up until now, we were unaware of the real value of this molecular classification in the advanced hormone-sensitive disease", points out Aleix Prat.

Over the last 5 years, the line of research followed by Dr. Aleix Prat's laboratory has allowed the biological heterogeneity of hormone-sensitive breast cancer to be described and has identified 4 molecular groups (Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2-enriched and Basal-like), with different prognoses and sensitivities to treatment. "The question we asked ourselves was how this biological classification behaved in advanced hormone-sensitive breast cancer", notes Aleix Prat. "Two previous studies led by our group pointed out that, among patients with advanced hormone-sensitive breast cancer treated with hormone therapy, the Luminal A subtype has the best prognosis, whilst the HER2-enriched and Basal-like subtypes have the worst prognosis. The Luminal B subtype, on the other hand, has a fair prognosis. In this context, it was necessary to validate these findings and, above all, to see the impact of the CDK4/6 inhibitors, since they are currently the standard treatment", he adds.

In the article published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the researchers analysed the expression of 152 genes in 1,160 patients with advanced hormone-sensitive breast cancer treated in 3 phase III clinical trials in the MONALEESA programme, which led to the approval of ribociclib by the public health authorities.

A total of 488 patients received hormone therapy alone, and 672 patients received the hormone treatment in combination with ribociclib. The Luminal A molecular subtype was the most frequent (47%), followed by the Luminal B (24%), the HER2-enriched (13%) and the Basal-like (3%). Compared with the Luminal A subtype, the risk of the disease progressing was higher in the rest of the molecular subtypes. For example, the risk of progression in the HER2-enriched and the Basal-like subtypes was 2 and 4 times higher compared with the Luminal A subtype. Finally, the researchers observed that all the molecular subtypes except for the Basal-like benefited from treatment with ribociclib.

"On the one hand, our study definitively validated prior observations about the prognostic value of the molecular classification. On the other, we showed for the first time the high clinical value of ribociclib in the HER2-enriched subtype, a highly aggressive group of tumours when treated with hormone therapy alone. Finally, our study makes it very clear that it is increasingly important to know the molecular subtype", concludes Aleix Prat.

Future studies will establish the predictive value of the molecular classification of hormone-sensitive breast cancer in other contexts. Specific examples may include the search for new targeted therapies for the aggressive HER2-enriched and Basal-like subtypes. Along these lines, the SOLTI cooperative group, presided over by Aleix Prat, is carrying out multicentre clinical trials for each of these groups, such as the TATEN trial or the ARIANNA trial, which are assessing innovative therapies such as immunotherapy, for example.

INFORMATION:


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Prognostic value of molecular classification in metastatic breast cancer confirmed

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Diabetes drug may be a new weapon against HIV

2021-03-29
CHAPEL HILL, NC - A team led by scientists at the UNC School of Medicine discovered an important vulnerability of the AIDS-causing retrovirus HIV, and has shown in preclinical experiments that a widely used diabetes drug, metformin, seems able to exploit this vulnerability. The scientists, whose study is published in Nature Immunology, found that HIV, when it infects immune cells called CD4 T cells, helps fuel its own replication by boosting a key process in the cells' production of chemical energy. They also found that the diabetes drug metformin inhibits the same process and thereby suppresses HIV replication in these cells, in both cell-culture and mouse experiments. "These findings suggest that metformin and other drugs that reduce T cell metabolism ...

TGen-ASU review suggests added sugars are contributing to liver disease among children

2021-03-29
PHOENIX, Ariz. -- March 29, 2021 -- A review of more than 20 studies by researchers at Arizona State University and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an affiliate of City of Hope, suggests that nonalcoholic fatty-liver disease (NAFLD) is a growing dietary problem for children across the globe. "The prevalence of fatty-liver disease is escalating not only in adults, but also in children," said Johanna DiStefano, Ph.D., a Professor and head of TGen's Diabetes and Fibrotic Disease Unit, and the review's senior author. "Like type 2 diabetes, NAFLD used to be considered a disease that developed only in adulthood, ...

How coastal forests are managed can impact water cycle

2021-03-29
Younger trees take up and release less water than mature trees 10 years or older, researchers from North Carolina State University found in a new study that tracked how water moves through wetland pine forests near the North Carolina coast. Their findings, published in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, suggest managers should time timber harvests to leave older trees alongside new growth to mitigate runoff. "The water balance, especially in coastal sites, is very important," said the study's lead author Maricar Aguilos, postdoctoral research associate in forestry and environmental resources at NC State. "We have so much water there. We wanted to understand how land-use changes impact water use and drainage in the forests, ...

Scientists create simple synthetic cell that grows and divides normally

Scientists create simple synthetic cell that grows and divides normally
2021-03-29
Five years ago, scientists created a single-celled synthetic organism that, with only 473 genes, was the simplest living cell ever known. However, this bacteria-like organism behaved strangely when growing and dividing, producing cells with wildly different shapes and sizes. Now, scientists have identified seven genes that can be added to tame the cells' unruly nature, causing them to neatly divide into uniform orbs. This achievement, a collaboration between the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Bits and Atoms, was described in the journal Cell. Identifying these genes is an important step toward engineering synthetic cells that do useful things. Such ...

Low parental socioeconomic status during pregnancy alters early fetal brain development

2021-03-29
Maternal socioeconomic status impacts babies even before birth, emphasizing the need for policy interventions to support the wellbeing of pregnant women, according to newly published END ...

WIC Nutrition Program increased enrollment shifting from paper vouchers to electronic

2021-03-29
PHILADELPHIA -- The U.S. government's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, usually abbreviated as WIC, saw a jump in enrollment of nearly 8 percent in states that implemented a federally mandated switch from paper vouchers to electronic benefit cards (EBTs), according to a study led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The finding, published in JAMA Pediatrics, supports the rationale for the switch, which was to increase participation by making it easier and less stigmatizing to obtain and redeem WIC benefits. "The broad takeaway ...

Autism rates have increased and show differences in ethnic minorities

2021-03-29
Around one in 57 (1.76%) children in the UK is on the autistic spectrum, significantly higher than previously reported, according to a study of more than 7 million children carried out by researchers from the University of Cambridge's Department of Psychiatry in collaboration with researchers from Newcastle University and Maastricht University. Black and Chinese pupils were 26% and 38% more likely to be autistic respectively and autistic children were much more likely to face significant social disadvantage. The results are published today in JAMA Pediatrics. The team drew on data from the School Census from the National Pupil Database, collected by the Department for Education from individuals aged 2-21 years old in state-funded schools in England. Of more than 7 million ...

Assessment of simulated SARS-CoV-2 infection, mortality risk associated with radiation therapy among patients in 8 RCTs

2021-03-29
What The Study Did: This comparative effectiveness study investigates how the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with the benefits and risks of standard radiation therapy in simulated patients. Authors: Rifaquat Rahman, M.D., of the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center in Boston, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.3304) Editor's Note: The article includes conflict of interest disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, ...

A visit to 'Dr. Google' makes patients better at diagnosis

2021-03-29
BOSTON --Medical professionals often advise patients not to search the Internet for their symptoms before coming into the clinic, yet many people turn to "Dr. Google" when feeling sick. Concerns about "cyberchondria" -- or increased anxiety induced by the Internet -- have made the value of using Internet searches controversial. In a new study that used case vignettes, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School Department of Health Care Policy explored the impact Internet searches have on patients' abilities to reach a correct diagnosis. They found that study outcomes suggest the Internet may not be so harmful after all. Participants ...

Younger age of first drug use associated with faster development of substance use disorder

2021-03-29
Younger age of first cannabis use or prescription drug misuse is associated with faster development of substance use disorders NIH analysis measures the prevalence of nine substance use disorders after first substance use or misuse in young people A new study shows that in the time after first trying cannabis or first misusing prescription drugs, the percentages of young people who develop the corresponding substance use disorder are higher among adolescents (ages 12-17) than young adults (ages 18-25). In addition, 30% of young adults develop a heroin use disorder and 25% develop a methamphetamine use disorder a year after first using heroin or methamphetamine. These findings, published in JAMA Pediatrics, emphasize the vulnerability ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Modesty and boastfulness – perception depends on usual performance

Do sweeteners increase your appetite? New evidence from randomised controlled trial says no 

Women with obesity do not need to gain weight during pregnancy, new study suggests

Individuals with multiple sclerosis face substantially greater risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19, despite high rates of vaccination

Study shows obesity in childhood associated with a more than doubling of risk of developing multiple sclerosis in early adulthood

Rice Emerging Scholars Program receives $2.5M NSF grant to boost STEM education

Virtual rehabilitation provides benefits for stroke recovery

Generative AI develops potential new drugs for antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Biofuels could help island nations survive a global catastrophe, study suggests

NJIT research team discovering how fluids behave in nanopores with NSF grant

New study shows association of historical housing discrimination and shortfalls in colon cancer treatment

Social media use may help to empower plastic surgery patients

Q&A: How to train AI when you don't have enough data

Wayne State University researchers uncover potential treatment targets for Zika virus-related eye abnormalities

Discovering Van Gogh in the wild: scientists unveil a new gecko species

Small birds spice up the already diverse diet of spotted hyenas in Namibia

Imaging detects transient “hypoxic pockets” in the mouse brain

Dissolved organic matter could be used to track and improve the health of freshwaters

Indoor air quality standards in public buildings would boost health and economy, say international experts

Positive associations between premenstrual disorders and perinatal depression

New imaging method illuminates oxygen's journey in the brain

Researchers discover key gene for toxic alkaloid in barley

New approach to monitoring freshwater quality can identify sources of pollution, and predict their effects

Bidirectional link between premenstrual disorders and perinatal depression

Cell division quality control ‘stopwatch’ uncovered

Vaccine protects cattle from bovine tuberculosis, may eliminate disease

Andrew Siemion to receive the SETI Institute’s 2024 Drake Award

New study shows how the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus enters our cells

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy proves effective for locally advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma

Study flips treatment paradigm in bilateral Wilms tumor, shows resistance to chemotherapy may point toward favorable outcomes

[Press-News.org] Prognostic value of molecular classification in metastatic breast cancer confirmed
In addition, the classification enables the prediction of the benefits of a cell cycle inhibitor