Clinical trial re prevention of breast cancer recurrence

Hi Veep

Thank you for getting in touch and welcome to the online community. I’m Isobel one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists  on the Macmillan Support Line.

I can see that you have joined our Breast cancer forum. I hope that you are finding it helpful and supportive.

This looks like an interesting and yes, exciting line of research. Having read more detail about this I noted that it was a proof of concept study, which holds real promise, and the authors are hoping that the results will ignite more research into this.

It looks like this is still very early and as you say all studies must go through due process before the NHS will take the results on board. NICE would review and evaluate the studies, then provide guidance, and recommendations to the NHS based on the robustness of the evidence provided.

In America they have begun to enrol more people into larger studies which they hope will confirm and extend the results shown in the original study.

Studies that show promise and need further research are often shared within the research community and it is possible that trials can become multi-centre and worldwide.

I have looked on the Cancer research UK (CRUK) clinical trials page to see if this study is available to join in the UK. But I could not find the two trails, that the Penn paper refers to. It appears to be in America only.

Risk of recurrence is a fear that many share, especially if you have already been told that you could be high risk. I would suggest speaking to your specialist if you are interested in joining any clinical trails that are related to identifying risk of recurrence. They may be aware of work that is ongoing in connection with this, perhaps not the American studies, but other lines of research that are happening in the UK. CRUK would also be able to advise of any trials that are currently taking place.

Please know that you can contact our helpline and speak to one of our cancer information nurses if you need to discuss this or anything else in more detail. Sometimes a 2-way conversation can be very beneficial.

Best wishes,

Isobel Y, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist 

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email. 

Ref/ IY/DC

Hi Isobel

Thanks for such a thoughtful reply. It's very helpful. I think asking my oncologist and CRUK about any relevant trials is a really good idea. If there are any, I would be very keen to join one.

Thanks for all your help.

Veep