A new genetic test could help thousands of breast cancer patients at risk of developing aggressive secondary tumours.
A study led by the University of Sheffield has shown that women with breast cancer without a key genetic marker are more likely to respond to a treatment that can prevent metastasis.
Large-scale clinical trials have shown that bisphosphonates – a group of bone strengthening drugs – can help to prevent the disease from spreading to bone in breast cancer patients if it is prescribed early enough.
The findings of the new study, published in Lancet Oncology, and part of an international phase 3 clinical trial involving 3,360 women with stage II or III breast cancer, have shown it could be possible to identify women who would benefit from bisphosphonates by using a test that looks for a MAF gene.
Professor Robert Coleman said: "If the test is negative for this gene, then they can be offered this bone strengthening treatment, which can give them a better chance of surviving their cancer.”
The MAFTest was developed by Spanish medical company Inbiomotion following work conducted at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) in Barcelona.
If a second trial, which is taking place in the USA, is successful, it could be incorporated into the routine testing of breast cancer patients to see if they could benefit from bisphosphonate treatments such as zoledronic acid.
Those found not to carry the gene could be given the drug after having surgery and radiotherapy for their primary tumour in an effort to prevent the cancer from spreading.
Coleman RE, Hall A, Albanell J, et al. Effect of MAF amplification on treatment outcomes with adjuvant zoledronic acid in early breast cancer: a secondary analysis of the international, open-label, randomised, controlled, phase 3 AZURE (BIG 01/04). Lancet Oncology 13 October 2017; doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(17)30603-4 [abstract]
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