Results from a clinical trial presented at the 2016 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting (April 16-20; New Orleans, LA) identified two genetic biomarkers capable of predicting which patients with breast cancer would benefit from chemotherapy followed by tamoxifen.
Patients’ genetic makeup can have a significant influence not only on what treatments they should receive but also on how well they will respond to treatment. In a multi-institutional clinical trial, a team of investigators examined 12 potential biomarkers for the breast cancer gene GATA3 to see if any could be associated with patients’ survival.
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Investigators from Roswell Park Cancer Institute (Buffalo, NY) looked at both patients with a high risk of cancer recurrence and those with a low risk of cancer recurrence. High-risk patients were randomly assigned to receive chemotherapy alone or chemotherapy plus tamoxifen, a powerful hormonal agent. Low-risk patients did not receive any adjuvant therapy.
Two GATA3 genetic variants, rs3802604 and rs568727, were associated with disease-free and overall survival in high-risk patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy. The associations were strongest in patients who received tamoxifen after chemotherapy. Additionally, seven other genetic variants were associated with outcomes in patients who received tamoxifen after chemotherapy.
In contrast, no association was found in low-risk patients who did not receive treatment.
“These findings suggest that GATA3 genetic markers may be useful in guiding the selection of optimal treatment regimens for breast cancer patients,” Song Yao, PhD, Roswell Park, senior author of the study said in a press release. “Further studies should be conducted to validate the findings and broaden our understanding of the mechanisms behind different therapies.”
