California Pacific Medical Center Breast Health Cohort

PI Name: Cummings S
Title: California Pacific Medical Center Breast Health Cohort
Institute: California Pacific Medical Center

Tamoxifen, raloxifene and aromatase inhibitors reduce the risk of ER+ breast cancer by 50 to 80%. It is not clear how these drugs should be targeted. Risk factors are very weak predictors of ER+ cancer. New measurements of risk of ER+ cancer are needed, including breast density and assays from blood.

The investigators propose to establish a large and ongoing new cohort of women undergoing mammography in the CPMC Breast Health Center. As a participant in the SF Mammography Registry, the Center already collects risk factors for breast cancer from its patients and new cases of breast cancer are periodically obtained from the Tumor Registry. The investigators propose to automatically assess volumetric breast density on all (~45,000 per year) mammograms performed in the Center. In addition, they propose to obtain and bank serum, plasma, and buffy coat (for DNA) in as many women as the funding allows (at least 5,000 per year).

This unique cohort is likely to be a magnet for funding from NIH (especially the NCI Mammography Registry), foundations, and industry. Ultimately, this Breast Research Center may be become a site for recruitment of participants for chemoprevention trials. Eli Lilly (Dr. Will Dere) and Novartis Oncology (Dr. Pierre Dodion) have expressed interest in assisting with start-up funding for the collection of blood specimens if the project receives funding. R2 (a company that makes systems for rereading mammograms) has shown strong interest in adapting their scanners (in place in the Center) to breast densitometry at no cost. The aim of this proposal also fits well with the priorities of the new DaCosta Fund for Prevention of Breast Cancer. The proposed budget also leverages the infrastructure for data collection and follow-up provided by the San Francisco Mammography Registry and substantial contributions of effort from Dr. Shepherd and Dr. Cummings.