Talking About Metastatic Breast Cancer Trials

Welcome to our summer newsletter“Talking about Trials” or, more specifically, talking about metastatic breast cancer trials.

No one knows precisely how many people are living with metastatic breast cancer. The Metastatic Breast Cancer Network reports the number is estimated to be more than 155,000. What we do know is that up to 10 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer have metastatic disease, and that up to 30 percent of all breast cancer cases will become metastatic. We also know that metastatic breast cancer kills about 40,000 women each year.

Clinical trials are important options all breast cancer patients should consider. They are especially critical for those with metastatic disease, because it can give these women access to the new targeted therapies and immunotherapies that are being developed. As this interactive chart developed by Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance (MBCA) shows, as of July 2015, there were 204 metastatic breast cancer trials underway–and more have been added since then.

To get results, these trials need to enroll close to 27,900 patients. We are proud to be a member of the MBCA research task force, and be contributing to the Alliance’s aim to ensure all women with metastatic breast cancer know their participation in research trials is needed.

As part of this effort, and with support from the Avon-Pfizer Metastatic Grant Program, we worked over the past year with five other breast cancer advocacy groups to launch Metastatic Trial Search, the first and only clinical trial search engine specifically for people with metastatic breast cancer.

In this issue, we speak with two breast cancer researchers who want to see new areas explored in metastatic clinical trials–Dr. Patricia Steeg and Dr. Gabriel Hortobagyi. We hope you enjoy learning about their ideas and insights. We also hope that this issue leaves you inspired to explore trials for yourself as well as share this information with others you know, especially those living with metastatic disease.

—Elly Cohen, Ph.D., Program Director, BreastCancerTrials.org