New regimen for aggressive breast cancers significantly improves survival after surgery

The CRUK-funded PARTNER trial has reported promising results in patients with early-stage breast cancer and inherited BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations.
Researchers, led by Jean Abraham from the University of Cambridge, optimised the timing of olaparib administration alongside chemotherapy before surgery to achieve the best results. After three years 100% of patients survived, compared with 88% in the control group who only received chemotherapy.
Jean is now planning to expand the patient cohort and demonstrate the improved toxicity profile and cost-effectiveness of the PARTNER approach compared with current standard of care.

Do you have questions about cancer prevention research?

Join our City of London Centre for a one-day, in-person Primer on Cancer Prevention to learn the fundamentals of cancer prevention from experts in the field.
Peter Sasieni, of the Wolfson Institute of Population Health at QMUL, is one of the event co-hosts, and gave us an insight into what attendees can expect:
“We’ll give a taster of four perspectives – the lab, the clinic, epidemiology and behavioural science. This will allow us to bring together what we understand about cancer prevention at the molecular level with societal questions about how to change behaviours.”
So, if you’re an epidemiologist with questions about cancer biology or a clinician looking to enhance your approach through behavioural science, this is the event for you.
Register today to join Peter Sasieni and co-hosts at the Primer in London on 24 June.

Webinar: Biology to Prevention Award, co-funded with ACS

We have partnered with the American Cancer Society to co-fund our Biology to Prevention Award, doubling the funding available to collaborative UK-US teams.
Up to the equivalent of £1.2m per grant is now on offer to transatlantic research teams taking a multidisciplinary approach identify novel biological mechanisms and pathways that could inform or enable future cancer primary prevention strategies.
Join us for a webinar on 21 May at 16:00 BST to find out all about this fantastic new funding opportunity including how to apply for co-funding. There will be opportunity to ask questions.

Experimental Design Assistant virtual workshop

The Experimental Design Assistant (EDA) is a free online software that helps researchers design robust in vivo experiments that are more likely to give reproducible results.
This interactive virtual workshop on using the EDA will be helpful for anyone involved in planning and designing experiments or teaching experimental design.
During the session, Esther Pearl (NC3Rs Programme Manager for Experimental Design) will give a live demonstration of the EDA before answering your questions and providing personalised feedback as you design your own experiment.
Registration closes on Monday 19 May.