Which hormone treatments work best for men's breast cancer
Predicting Endocrine Therapy Response In Male Breast Tumors
This project compares three hormone therapy regimens for men with ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer to find which reduces tumor activity and cancer burden the most.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R37 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11122328 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you join, you will be randomly assigned to one of three endocrine (hormone) treatments and have a short 3-week 'window' period followed by a tumor biopsy. After that you'll enter a four-month pre-surgery phase where some patients will also receive the CDK4/6 drug abemaciclib, then have surgery to remove the tumor. Researchers will compare changes in tumor growth markers (like Ki-67) and residual cancer after treatment and will sequence tumor samples before and after treatment to look for gene-expression patterns linked to response. The goal is to build a multigene signature that could help predict which men will respond best to each hormone therapy.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Men diagnosed with ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer who are candidates for neoadjuvant endocrine therapy and willing to undergo tumor biopsies and surgery.
Not a fit: People with ER-negative or HER2-positive tumors, women, or anyone unwilling or unable to have biopsies, four months of pre-surgery therapy, or surgery are unlikely to be eligible or benefit.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help doctors choose the most effective hormone treatment for individual men with ER+/HER2- breast cancer.
How similar studies have performed: Similar short 'window' Ki-67 studies and neoadjuvant endocrine plus CDK4/6 approaches have shown predictive signals in women, but applying these methods specifically to men is novel.
Where this research is happening
Chapel Hill, United States
- Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill — Chapel Hill, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Spanheimer, Philip M. — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Spanheimer, Philip M.
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.