Breast Cancer Trials

Bridging Science and Personal Experience: The Role of the Consumer Advisory Panel The Breast Cancer Trials Board of Directors established the Consumer Advisory Panel, also known as CAP, in 1998 because it recognised the value and importance of consumer input to the planning and conduct of clinical trials research. CAP members bring their own unique experience of breast cancer and a true commitment...

Improving Treatment Outcomes: Advancing Adjuvant Therapy for Early ER+ Breast Cancer Dr Erica Mayer is the director of clinical research and institute physician at the Breast Oncology Centre, Dana-Faber Cancer Institute, and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, United States. Dr Mayer's research focuses on the role of novel therapies in the treatment of breast c...

Cracking the Code: Biomarkers and the Fight Against Hormone Therapy Resistance Professor Andrew Tutt is a Consultant Clinical Oncologist in the Breast Cancer Unit at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. He is also a Professor of Oncology at King's College in London. We spoke to him about biomarkers for hormone therapy resistance and deficiency, and on targeting the Achilles heel...

Is Less More? Rethinking the Future of Breast Cancer Surgery Professor Michael Gnant is a Professor of Surgery at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, where he also serves as President of the Austrian Breast and Colorectal Cancer Study Group. We spoke to him about trends in surgery de-escalation and management of the axilla. Tune in for a deep dive into this important research. ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate...

How to Select the Right Patients for Volume Replacement Therapy Peter Barry is a Consultant Surgeon at the Breast Unit, Royal Marsden in London. He focuses on breast oncoplastic techniques and reconstructive options following cancer surgery, as well as preventative surgery for high-risk women. We spoke with him about selecting patients for volume replacement therapy. Tune in for a deep dive into t...

DCIS & The Risk of Local Recurrence: What You Need to Know Dr Christina Kozul is a Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Accredited General Surgical trainee at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, who aims to subspecialise in Breast Surgery. She is passionate about contributing to breast cancer research to improve outcomes for women with DCIS and breast cancer. We spoke with Dr Kozul about Ductal Ca...

Metastatic Breast Cancer Treatment: What's New in the Field? Dr Carlos Barrios is a medical oncologist from Brazil. He dedicates himself to breast cancer and clinical research, and coordinates the Latin-American cooperative oncology group in Brazil, which congregates investigators from 16 different countries in the region. His main interest is establishing collaboration between institutions ac...

Why Every Breast Cancer Patient Should Have a Voice in Their Treatment Rebecca Angus is a Senior Podiatrist with a personal history of breast cancer, being diagnosed with the disease in 2018, at just 33 years old. She is also a member of the Breast Cancer Trials Consumer Advisory Panel (CAP), which provides a patient’s perspective on the development of trials and the conduct of our research progra...

Collaborating with Patients for a Successful Clinical Trial Dr Nick Zdenkowski is a Medical Oncologist and Medical Advisor with Breast Cancer Trials. He is the Chair of the Breast Cancer Trials Scientific Advisory Committee and works on a broad range of breast cancer research, including shared decision-making, clinical trials, and patient-reported outcomes, particularly around neoadjuvant systemic...

Quality of Life & Treatment Success: What You Should Know Dr Deme Karikios is a Medical Oncologist and head of the department at Nepean Hospital in Sydney. He has a clinical and research interest in thoracic and gastrointestinal malignancies. Deme also has a research interest in the costs and value of anticancer drugs, decisions about treatment with expensive, unsubsidised anticancer drugs, an...

What is Ductal Carcinoma in Situ? Understanding the Basics Professor Sunil Lakhani is the Chair of the Breast Cancer Trials Board of Directors. He is a clinical diagnostic pathologist and also heads a research team comprising scientists and clinicians, ensuring a translational focus to the program. We spoke with him about Ductal Carcinoma in Situ, and how it relates to breast cancer. Like this epi...

Telehealth, Screening and Recruitment: The Future of Clinical Trials Dr Sarah Zardawi is an early-career Medical Oncologist who has also trained in Palliative Medicine. She has a private practice in Maitland, NSW, and is a Clinical Fellow at Breast Cancer Trials. Sarah is dedicated to providing compassionate, patient-centered care for patients and their families at all stages of cancer treatment....

Lobular Prognostic Biomarkers: Key to Advancing Breast Cancer Treatment? Associate Professor Amy McCart Reed holds a PhD in molecular biology from the University of Queensland and has undertaken a series of studies investigating the genomic landscape of breast cancer subtypes. She is passionate about breast cancer clinical research, biobanking, and precision oncology. In addition to her breast can...

Surviving Breast Cancer: Post-Treatment Challenges You Might Face Dr Syapiq Long is an early-career Medical Oncologist. He graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and moved to Australia in 2015 to complete his training in Medical Oncology. He is currently working as a joint Fellow at the Calvary Mater Newcastle and Breast Cancer Trials, and we spoke with him about survivorship and...

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Care: Improving Breast Cancer Outcomes Shavaun Wells is a Senior Fieldwork Officer on the Kulay Kalingka Study, a national cohort study aiming to understand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s beliefs and attitudes about cancer, engagement with cancer screening programs, and experiences with cancer diagnosis, care, and treatment, to improve experi...

Can Text Messages Really Improve Endocrine Therapy Adherence? Dr Anna Singleton is a Senior Research Fellow at the Daffodil Centre, a joint venture between the University of Sydney and Cancer Council NSW. Her research focuses on co-designing and implementing accessible and scalable digital health services to improve health outcomes for people living with and beyond cancer. We spoke with her about...

Genomic Testing and Targeted Therapy: The Future of Breast Cancer Care Dr Stephen Luen is a Medical Oncologist and translational researcher at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. His current research interests include the study of genomic and immune biomarkers in breast cancer, with a particular focus on investigating biological characteristics and developing clinical trials for high-risk subgroups...

How Exercise and Diet are Changing Metastatic Breast Cancer Treatment Marina Reeves is a Professor in the School of Public Health and Deputy Associate Dean of Research in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Queensland. She is also an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian coordinating a research program that is focused on breast cancer epidemiology and the role of supportive care interv...

How Structured Exercise Boosts Health: The PREFERABLE-EFFECT Study Dr Eva Zopf is an exercise physiologist whose research interest focuses on the role of exercise as medicine for the management of cancer. Aside from developing, conducting, and evaluating exercise intervention studies in cancer patients, Eva is also dedicated to improving the supportive care services available for cancer survivors....

Overcoming Challenges in Very Early Breast Cancer Treatment Professor Bruce Mann is the Director of Research at Breast Cancer Trials, Professor of Surgery at The University of Melbourne, and Director of the Breast Tumour Stream at the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre. His research interests focus on tailored screening and treatment for early breast cancer, and we spoke to him about some of th...

Oligometastatic Breast Cancer: What's the Latest in Treatment? Professor Prue Francis is the Clinical Head of Breast Medical Oncology at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and a consultant Medical Oncologist at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne. Associate Professor Steven David is an experienced Radiation Oncologist based at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, bringing a strong interest in impl...

Inside the OLIO Clinical Trial: What You Need to Know OLIO is an immunotherapy clinical trial that is examining whether the addition of olaparib to standard chemotherapy, with or without durvalumab, will improve outcomes for young, pre-menopausal women with high-risk, early breast cancer. Dr Stephen Luen is the Study Chair of the OLIO clinical trial, and we spoke to him about the aim of this resea...

Become a Pink Champion: How Companies Like Fugen Constructions are Supporting Breast Cancer Trials For more than four decades, the Cole Classic has been a cornerstone event at the iconic Manly Beach and is one of the world’s most celebrated ocean swims. The event hosts a 1km, 2km, or 5km swim option and allows participants to raise funds for a number of charities, including Breast Cancer Trials. I...

Navigating a Breast Cancer Diagnosis with a Young Family Naomi Richards is a wife and mum of three daughters, Mila, Lottie, and Eden, living in Wagga Wagga, Australia. In 2023, Naomi felt a lump in her left breast, and after undergoing days of testing, including a mammogram and an ultrasound, she was diagnosed with breast cancer on March 8th, 2023, which also happens to be International Women'...

Prone vs Supine Position During Radiotherapy Treatment: What's Best? Jenna Dean is a Radiation Therapist at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre, with an interest in patient-centred care, research, breast planning, and particle therapy. This is the third year of the Breast Cancer Trials Clinical Fellowship Program, and Jenna has been successful in receiving a fellowship i...