Breast SPOREs
Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer diagnosed in women in the United States and is third highest estimated in cancer deaths following lung cancer and colorectal cancer death rates. As estimated by the American Cancer Society (ACS), approximately 279,100 new invasive breast cancer cases will be identified in women in 2020 and about 42,690 deaths will be attributed to this disease. According to NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program (SEER), approximately 12.8 percent of women will be diagnosed with female breast cancer at some point during their lifetime, based on 2014-2016 data. Much progress has been made over the past decade in identifying hereditary factors, as well as novel therapeutic and preventative agents for breast cancer. The Breast Cancer SPORE program has evolved significantly from 1992, when four sites were funded. Current grants support development of novel therapies and therapeutic approaches (small molecule inhibitors, anti-estrogens, vaccines and antibodies), technologies (microarrays, genomic sequencing and expression profiling, quantitative proteomics, and mass spectrometry), population studies and markers (i.e. cancer-related genes/proteins) that aim to provide a better understanding of tumor resistance; diagnosis, prognosis, screening, prevention, and treatment of breast cancer.