Active clinical trials for "Breast Neoplasms"

Fatigue is common in cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy. To further understand the mechanism of fatigue and search for potential biomarkers, we will conduct a prospective study with breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy.

The purpose of this stage of study is to establish discriminant among healthy tissue, benign and malignant thyroid and breast tumors by fourier transform infrared spectrometry variables.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) in human breath are captured and analyzed by the Spectrosense EVA system, which is combination of a gas chromatography (GC) and software algorithm. The objective is to obtain a set or sets of VOC bio-markers that will provide the best discrimination between Breast Cancer sick population and healthy population. The gold standard for identifying sick/healthy population is biopsy proven breast cancer.

Technetium-99m NC100692 Injection is under development as a diagnostic radiopharmaceutical for targeting angiogenesis associated with diseases such as primary and metastatic cancer, and for targeting active fibrosis in cardiac diseases such as developing heart failure and developing hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A principle goal of imaging is identification of disease processes early in their development, at times prior to symptoms. In cancer, angiogenesis is essential for a tumour to exceed approximately 1-2 mm3 in size.As markers of angiogenesis are often expressed early in the growth of a tumour it is postulated that imaging of angiogenesis can assist in early diagnosis of cancer, relapse or spread, and monitoring response to therapy. Technetium-99m NC100692 Injection will be tested on 3 populations of pts: 1.30 patients at high risk For breast cancer 2.30 patients with breast cancer 3.15 patients with locally advanced breast cancer undergoing treatment.

The goal of this study is to determine the value of the new mammography technique called Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) compared to the current standard technique Digital Mammography for the early detection of Breast Cancer. DBT is able to compute a three-dimensional image of a breast from several low-dose mammographies taken from different angles while the device is moving around the breast in a circular motion. This should overcome a significant limitation of Digital Mammography arising from the masking of breast cancer in a mammography image caused by overlying normal breast tissue. This is a study conducted in several Austrian Breast Imaging Centers.

The primary aim of this study is to measure, document and compare recall rates of two-dimensional plus three dimensional (2D plus 3D) (Tomosynthesis) mammography to that of 2D mammography in a screening population. This study will compare recall rates for both non-cancer and cancer cases.

Treatment of breast cancer has traditionally been based on the primary tumour's features in the breast. Only recently, when cancer returns at other sites, has there been an attempt to biopsy the metastatic disease and change treatments accordingly. A 'repeat biopsy' can be technically difficult, painful and, when possible, only represents a small sample of one of many metastases. Even when one deposit responds to a new treatment, a neighbouring one may continue to grow. There is an urgent need to characterise all deposits, particularly the lethal ones which progress despite all treatments. This study will enable the comprehensive analysis of the metastatic process and the evolution of the breast cancer through the course of its treatment. Patients who have consented during life to donate their tissues for molecular analysis will provide the means for such an analysis. Main aims: To comprehensively and systematically examine metastatic breast cancer by its detailed exploratory molecular characterization to elucidate the possible inter- and intratumoural heterogeneity between the primary tumour and the majority of metastatic sites. To map the natural history of the metastatic breast cancer process

Aims: To evaluate the role of monoclonal antibodies in the detection of cancer specific antigens in blood and tumor tissue, and the potential use of these antibodies for future evaluation for therapy. Also, to evaluate the presence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and to study EMT (epithelial-mesenchymal) signature changes during chemotherapy. Methods: To take 20mls of blood from advanced breast cancer patients before a new course of anti-cancer therapy, and another 20mls of blood 3 weeks after treatment. In addition, Consent will be obtained to cut 10-15 tissue sections from their archival tumor specimens. Whenever possible, the blood taking will be timed such that no additional needle prick will be done specifically for the purpose of the study, by coinciding it with standard blood taking which is required for the patient's treatment. Importance of proposed research to science or medicine:Detection of tumor specific antigens in the blood may potentially reduce the need for more invasive biopsies for confirmation of diagnosis of cancer or follow-up of cancer in the future. The identification and development of antibodies specific to these tumor antigens or markers may offer future therapeutic options, or as a vehicle to deliver cytotoxic therapy. Identification of CTCs as well as understanding the changes that occur in EMT signature in these circulating tumor cells may serve as a means of potential means of prognostication and modification of therapy in the future. Potential Benefits and Risks: Potential risks to the patient include that of blood taking (pain, feeling faint, infection). Patients will not benefit directly from the study but the knowledge gained may help the management of future patients. Cancer biomarkers, such as antigens and circulating tumor cells, may be a potential area to developing new methods of diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Monoclonal antibiotics are now able to be identified and isolated that may specifically target progenitors of breast cancer as well as CTCs. The changes that occur to CTCs during treatment may serve as a means of prognostication, as well as allow for therapeutic modifications. Clinical correlative studies into these areas (MAbs and CTCs) will serve to determine the role of these in clinical application in the future.

Breast cancer can metastasize to the bones, which leads to another treatment if bone metastases are detected. The purpose of the study is to determine, if fluoride PET/CT is superior to bone scintigraphy with technetium. On the other side, the investigators would like to see if FDG-PET/CT is a reliable alternative to dedicated bone imaging to detect bone metastases in patients with breast cancer.

A number of prognostic and/or predictive genomic signatures for breast cancer have been developed by Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS). In the past 1 year, GIS has developed protocols and methods to conduct expression assays from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor specimens. A study on 800 tumor samples is planned to analyze these gene signatures and compare them with conventional clinical prognosticators and predictors. As the investigators plan to use archival tumor samples that dates back to the 1990s, the aim of this pilot study is to first analyze 10 anonymized samples to determine the feasibility of running these assays on old archival blocks. The information generated will help us determine whether very old samples (diagnosed before 2000) may be selected for the actual study.