Boosting pre-surgery treatment to prevent breast cancer from returning
Official title: Research Project 1: Enhancing neoadjuvant therapy to prevent breast cancer recurrence
Funded at Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah · NIH-11177949 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tries targeted drugs plus pre-surgery chemotherapy and computer-guided predictions to help people with triple-negative breast cancer, including Black and Hispanic women, reduce hidden cancer and lower the chance of relapse.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Salt Lake City, United States) |
| Project start | September 25, 2017 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $395,341 |
| NIH project number | 5U54CA224076-07 |
| Project ID | NIH-11177949 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with triple-negative breast cancer receiving or planned for pre-surgery (neoadjuvant) chemotherapy, especially African American and Hispanic patients, are the main population this work aims to help.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with other breast cancer subtypes (hormone-receptor–positive or HER2-positive) or those not getting pre-surgery chemotherapy are unlikely to benefit directly from these findings.
What this research studies
Researchers are adding targeted drugs to standard pre-surgery (neoadjuvant) chemotherapy to try to eliminate minimal residual disease before surgery. They use patient-derived tumor grafts (PDX) and computer-based signatures that predict how tumors respond to carboplatin and taxane chemotherapy to find combinations that give complete responses. The team is focusing on triple-negative breast cancer and on tumors from African American and Hispanic patients because these groups often have worse outcomes. Promising combinations would be candidates for future clinical trials and could help tailor therapy by predicting who will benefit.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lower recurrence rates after pre-surgery chemotherapy and may allow some patients to avoid or reduce toxic systemic chemotherapy.
How similar studies have gone: Some trials have shown that adding targeted drugs or carboplatin can improve pre-surgery response in triple-negative breast cancer, but using PDX models and computational response signatures together to guide combinations is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
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Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah
Salt Lake City, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lewis, Michael T. — Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah
- Study coordinator: Lewis, Michael T.
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Enhancing pre-surgery therapy to prevent breast cancer recurrence
A new program tests ways to boost chemotherapy given before surgery to lower the chance that breast cancer comes back, especially focusing on groups that have had worse outcomes.
-
Gene expression marks high risk for very late breast cancer return
A patient-focused study aims to find gene patterns that identify women with early breast cancer who are most likely to have cancer come back more than a decade later.
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Using gene expression to identify patients at high risk for late breast cancer recurrence
Researchers are studying breast cancer patients to find gene patterns that predict who might have cancer come back many years later, so doctors can tailor care for those at highest risk.
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Gene tests to find women at high risk of breast cancer returning many years later
This project looks for patterns in tumor gene activity to spot women with ER-positive breast cancer who are more likely to have the cancer come back more than 10 years after initial treatment.
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FoRtitude: an online program to ease fear of cancer recurrence for breast cancer survivors
A woman who has finished breast cancer treatment uses an online program to learn easy CBT-based steps to feel less worried about cancer coming back.
-
Prognostic staging for recurrent breast cancer to guide care
A Duke University-led project aims to create a prognostic classification system for women whose breast cancer has come back, so clinicians can discuss outcomes and plan treatment more clearly.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.