Irish Cancer Society’s BREAST-PREDICT roll out national clinical study aimed at improving outcomes for breast cancer patients

To mark the launch of their new breast cancer campaign, Paint it Pink, the Irish Cancer Society has announced the roll-out of a national clinical study by its first Collaborative Cancer Research Centre, BREAST-PREDICT which is aimed at understanding how aspirin may improve outcomes in breast cancer patients. This follows on from a recent research breakthrough funded by the Irish Cancer Society and Health Research Board, which found that women who had been prescribed aspirin regularly before being diagnosed with breast cancer were less likely to have cancer that spread to the lymph-nodes than women who were not on prescription aspirin.

The next step in this research will be to investigate how aspirin may have this effect. To answer this question, Irish Cancer Society BREAST-PREDICT researchers are looking to gather information on exposure to this medicine from almost 3000 breast cancer patients around the country. Patients participating in this study will be asked to answer some questions on their recent exposure to aspirin, information which can then be analysed by researchers. Scientists will also carry out laboratory-based studies to examine the mechanisms by which this drug might act to reduce the risk of breast cancer spreading.

This study is just one of a number of clinical studies run by the national cancer clinical research organisation, the All Ireland Co-operative Oncology Research Group (ICORG), which will enable Irish Cancer Society BREAST-PREDICT researchers to study tissue and blood samples from breast cancer patients across Ireland. In addition to funding the BREAST-PREDICT Collaborative Cancer Research Centre, the Irish Cancer Society also provides core funding to ICORG every year to allow clinical trials to take place across Ireland in the area of breast cancer and many other cancers. Through clinical trials run by ICORG, Irish Cancer Society BREAST-PREDICT researchers now have access to tumour and serum samples from over 1,000 breast cancer patients for their research studies. These samples can be used to improve understanding of how the individual characteristics of each tumour can dictate how likely a patient is to experience a recurrence, or how responsive they will be to a particular treatment.

The samples collected are from patients undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Scientists can profile these samples in order to understand how tumours can adapt and evolve in response to treatment, and to understand why certain patients develop resistance, while others are cured. Irish Cancer Society BREAST-PREDICT researchers are also working on identifying biomarkers which could indicate the presence of breast cancer, or the most appropriate treatment for a specific patient. It is hoped that this research may make personalised medicine a reality, whereby each breast cancer patient would have their treatment plan tailored for them based on the unique characteristics of their tumour.

Commenting on the roll-out of the study, Irish Cancer Society Acting Head of Research, Dr Sinéad Walsh said “The Irish Cancer Society firmly believes that excellent cancer research goes hand in hand with excellent cancer care and so we are delighted with the progress of the clinical research being conducted by our first Collaborative Cancer Research Centre, BREAST-PREDICT. Ultimately, through this research, breast cancer patients in Ireland today are playing an important role in improving the lives of breast cancer patients in the future.”

The announcement of the roll-out of the clinical study comes as the Irish Cancer Society launches their new breast cancer campaign, Paint it Pink. The campaign is calling on men and women throughout Ireland to come together this October in the fight against breast cancer by doing something big or small to Paint it Pink on October 3rd, and raises money for the Society’s work across breast cancer funding vital research, advocacy and services to those affected by breast cancer.

Irish Cancer Society, Chief Executive Officer, John McCormack said: “We are delighted to announce this exciting clinical study at the launch of our new breast cancer campaign Paint it Pink. The campaign is all about doing something to paint it pink this October, sharing pictures of your activity online, and texting the word Pink 50300 to donate €4 to the Society.  We can’t continue our work in the fight against breast cancer without raising significant funds, so we hope men and women across the country will get behind the campaign and paint it pink with us! It is through campaigns such as Paint it Pink that we can continue to fund and support exciting initiatives such as BREAST-PREDICT.

Visit www.paintitpink.ie for more information on how to get involved.

The Paint it Pink campaign is kindly supported by Centra.