Breast SPOREs
Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer diagnosed in women in the United States, and 2.3 million new cases were diagnosed globally and 685,000 deaths from this disease in 2020. American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that approximately 297,790 new invasive breast cancer cases will be identified in women in 2023, and about 43,700 deaths will be attributed to this disease. According to NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program (SEER), approximately 13 percent of women will be diagnosed with female breast cancer at some point during their lifetime, based on 2017-2019 data. Much progress has been made over the past decade in identifying hereditary factors, early understanding of cancer heterogeneity, advances in genomic testing, as well as in novel therapeutic, preventative agents, and precision oncology in breast cancer. The Breast Cancer SPORE program has evolved significantly since 1992, when four sites were funded. Currently, the funded grants support the development of novel therapies and therapeutic approaches (chemoimmunotherapy, small molecule inhibitors, anti-estrogens, vaccines, and antibodies). These grants also aim to understand tumor resistance by addressing the mechanisms of genomic instability, utilize technologies (microarrays, genomic sequencing, expression profiling, quantitative proteomics, and mass spectrometry), analyze population studies and markers (i.e., cancer-related genes/proteins), diagnosis, prognosis, screening, prevention, and treatment of breast cancer and metastasis.