Advocate Aurora Health cancer care clinics in communities across Illinois and Wisconsin are participating in a breast cancer clinical trial to evaluate whether radiation therapy is necessary when treating people with low-risk breast cancer.
The study compares the standard treatment – radiation therapy to the breast for up to six weeks plus hormonal therapy – to hormonal therapy alone following lumpectomy in people with low-risk breast cancer.
“Radiation therapy, combined with lumpectomy, has been considered an essential part of breast conservation therapy since the 1980s, presenting an alternative to mastectomy,” said radiation oncologist Ellen Ziaja, MD, Advocate Aurora Research Institute’s principal investigator for the study. “The goal of this study is to fine tune which low-risk breast cancer patients might avoid radiation therapy based on the genetic profile of their cancer.”
Recent advances in molecular testing have enabled oncologists to help identify which patients can safely skip chemotherapy for breast cancer treatment. Researchers are now trying to do the same for radiation therapy during breast conservation treatment.
“In recent years, the fear that breast cancer may return after initial treatment has led some women to opt for overtreatment of their low-risk breast cancer,” said Nina Garlie, PhD, vice president of clinical trials research for the Research Institute. “The results of this study could be immensely helpful in guiding future breast conservation treatment decisions.”
Participants will be randomly assigned to either the standard therapy or hormonal therapy alone. Researchers plan to enroll more than 1,600 participants at study sites throughout the country.
The clinical trial, “De-Escalation of breast radiation trial for hormone sensitive, HER-2 negative, oncotype recurrence score less than or equal to 18 breast cancer (DEBRA),” is sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and led by NRG Oncology.
To learn more about Advocate Aurora’s research, visit aah.org/research.
About Advocate Aurora Research Institute
Advocate Aurora Research Institute is a not-for-profit, limited liability company of Advocate Aurora Health. Advocate Aurora has emerged as a national destination for patient-centered bench, translational and clinical research, and the Research Institute unifies the innovative research efforts throughout the health system. Advocate Aurora researchers focus on rapidly translating new discoveries from the scientist’s bench to the patient’s bedside and into the community we serve to improve options and outcomes that change not only the lives of individuals, but transform the health of populations.