What factors affect breast cancer neoadjuvant chemotherapy efficacy?

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    What are the factors affecting neoadjuvant chemotherapy efficacy in breast cancer? A non-invasive in vivo study using specialist magnetic resonance (MR) methods

  • IRAS ID

    234794

  • Contact name

    Jiabao He

  • Contact email

    jiabao.he@abdn.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University of Aberdeen

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 5 months, 30 days

  • Research summary

    What factors affect breast cancer neoadjuvant chemotherapy efficacy?

    Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer affecting women. To treat locally advanced breast cancers, neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is often carried out before surgery to reduce the tumour size to allow breast conservation surgery. However, treatment response for individual patients varies, where the tumour may not respond to treatment and the quality of patient care is compromised if the NACT treatment plan is not optimised. Therefore, the assessment of NACT efficacy is beneficial for the early identification of these patients and appropriate management of treatment.

    Breast tumours have unique features compared to healthy tissue, including abnormal tissue structure and biochemical composition. With NACT there are specific changes to such tumour features indicating tumour treatment response.

    The purpose of this study is to establish how the changes to breast tumour features following NACT treatment are seen in non-invasive imaging. This study will look at scans of breast tumours using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Changes to tissue structure will be measured by advanced diffusion MRI techniques and changes to tumour related biochemical substances will be measured by advanced magnetic resonance spectroscopy techniques.

    We aim to assess if these techniques can provide information on the tumour treatment response following subsequent rounds of NACT treatment. In this longitudinal study, 25 patients undergoing NACT will be recruited for four repeated MRI investigations over the
    course of NACT treatment. Magnetic resonance measurements of tissue microstructure and biochemical composition will be compared against histological measurements and biochemical blood test methods.

    The study will recruit patients undergoing treatment at the NHS Grampian. This research is funded by Friends of ANCHOR, Tenovus Scotland Grampian and the NHS Grampian Endowment Research Fund.

  • REC name

    London - Central Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    17/LO/1777

  • Date of REC Opinion

    16 Oct 2017

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion