You can help researchers understand if a test can tell who would benefit from chemotherapy treatment and who could safely skip it.
What’s the title of the project?
OPTIMA: Could a test predict who may benefit from chemotherapy for breast cancer?
What’s the project about?
Research suggests that not everyone diagnosed with oestrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer will benefit from chemotherapy. Some people may do just as well with hormone therapy alone. Researchers want to improve the way we make decisions around chemotherapy, so that it’s only given to people who could benefit from it.
Tests that predict how likely breast cancer is to spread to somewhere else in the body can help to make these treatment decisions. But they only work for early ER positive HER2 negative breast cancer that hasn’t spread to the lymph nodes under the arm. So we need more research to understand if we can use these tests for breast cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes. The OPTIMA trial is looking to fill this gap in our knowledge.
Who’s organising it?
Researchers at the University College London, supported by Warwick Clinical Trials Unit.
The lead for this study is Professor Robert Stein, a consultant oncologist at University College London Hospitals and Professor of Breast Oncology at UCL Cancer Institute.
Email: OPTIMA@warwick.ac.uk
Phone: 02476 151 948
What are the criteria for taking part?
You may be able to talk part in this study if you’re:
- aged 40 or over
- are able to have chemotherapy
- have an invasive ER positive HER2 negative breast cancer
- the breast cancer has been removed with surgery.
Both men and women can take part in this study. There are additional criteria for taking part, which you can discuss with your clinical team.
You can find more information on the study website.
What do I need to do?
OPTIMA is a clinical study which involves your medical team being asked to send a sample of your cancer taken either from the tumour removed during surgery or biopsy before surgery. Further information on what’s involved in taking part can be found on the project website.
If you are considering joining the trial or would like more information about OPTIMA, please speak with a member of your hospital breast team or oncology team.
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Would you like to hear about more opportunities like this one, as well as lots of other exciting ways to make your voice heard? Breast Cancer Voices are people whose lives have been changed by breast cancer. They use their diverse experiences to shape our work.