Gene test to spot women at risk of breast cancer returning after 10 years
Using gene expression to identify patients at high risk for late breast cancer recurrence
This project looks for gene patterns that could show which women with ER-positive breast cancer are more likely to have the cancer come back more than 10 years after their first diagnosis.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Vermont & St Agric College NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Burlington, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11195565 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers will examine tumor tissue and gene activity from people like you who had ER-positive, non-metastatic breast cancer and stayed recurrence-free for at least 10 years. They will compare 200 women whose cancer returned after 10 years with 200 matched women whose cancer did not return, matching on age, stage, menopausal status, calendar year, and follow-up time. The team will look for differences in gene expression tied to late recurrence by analyzing archived samples and long-term clinical follow-up out to 20 years. The goal is to develop a reliable gene-based signal that could help guide decisions about who might benefit from additional preventive treatments years after their initial care.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are women diagnosed with ER-positive, non-metastatic breast cancer (pre- or postmenopausal) with available tumor tissue and long-term follow-up data, especially those who have reached 10 years or more after diagnosis.
Not a fit: Patients with non-ER-positive tumors, those with metastatic disease at diagnosis, or people without available tumor samples or long-term follow-up are unlikely to benefit from this specific research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify women at high risk of late recurrence so they receive preventive treatments while sparing low-risk women from unnecessary toxic therapies.
How similar studies have performed: Prior tests can predict earlier recurrences, but no assay is widely accepted for predicting recurrences beyond 5–10 years, so this long-term, large-cohort approach is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
Burlington, United States
- University of Vermont & St Agric College — Burlington, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ahern, Thomas Patrick — University of Vermont & St Agric College
- Study coordinator: Ahern, Thomas Patrick
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 below.