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Using data to improve treatment options for early triple negative breast cancer

Around 55,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK every year, and around one in five of these will be triple negative.

Around 8,000 women are diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer each year. [1]

Patients with triple negative breast cancer don’t have oestrogen or progesterone receptors and also don’t make too much of the protein called HER2. This means that there are fewer treatment options and worse outcomes compared to patients with other breast cancer subtypes.

DATA-CAN worked with the Leeds and Edinburgh NHS Cancer Centres to collect and curate historic data from patients with early stage triple negative breast cancer. The anonymised results were then shared with the pharmaceutical company, Roche Products Ltd to develop their understanding of the features of early triple negative breast cancer, treatment options and health outcomes for patients, to better support drug development and access to treatments. The curated data and insights are also available to NHS clinicians and academic researchers. Please find our poster for this project here.

This project has been approved by DATA-CAN’s Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Group.

Reference

1.     https://breastcancernow.org/about-us/media/facts-statistics

Date of preparation: July 2021

M-GB-00004247

Dr Peter Hall, of University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian, talks about his work with DATA-CAN on the early triple negative breast cancer data project.

This is a vital piece of work, as patients know there are few approved treatments for triple negative breast cancer except older drugs which are not very effective, and consequently, it is much feared.

Jacqui Gath Member of DATA-CAN PPIE group and breast cancer patient