The Power to Change the Course of Triple Negative Breast Cancer Treatment Could Lie Within You

July 27, 2022

There is an urgent need to improve treatment for TNBC patients and scientists recognize the importance of innovative research to improve TNBC patient outcomes. The speakers for this program, Dr. Silvia Formenti and Dr. Karen Cichowski, are members of the Transformative Breast Cancer Consortium which received a multi-million dollar grant to research the mechanisms underlying triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), with the hope of developing therapeutics for this aggressive and difficult to treat form of breast cancer.

This study will use donated tumor tissue and blood samples from TNBC patients when a biopsy or surgery is performed as part of their treatment. Dr. Formenti discussed creating organoids with tumor tissue donated by patients in order to look at changes in triple negative breast cancer cells as well as looking at patient's blood for changes in immune cells. Dr. Cichowski discussed testing a new class of epigenetic drugs called EZH2 that may increase the immune response to TNBC. Plus, Ricki Fairley, Founder and CEO of Touch, the Black Breast Cancer Alliance, shared the patient perspective and the importance of participating in research.

Here are some key takeaways from this webinar:

• There is a lot of research currently happening on TNBC and to remain hopeful.
• TNBC is way more complicated than originally thought.
• It's important for patients to discuss with their medical team on clinical trial options.