FORCE's eXamining the Relevance of Articles for You (XRAY) program looks behind the headlines of cancer news to help you understand what the research means for you.
XRAY is a reliable source of hereditary cancer research-related news and information.
Learn more about the XRAY program
Categories Clinical Trials
Relevance: High
Strength of Science: High
Research Timeline: Post Approval
Study : Daily high-dose aspirin taken for at least 2 years reduces the risk of colorectal cancer but not other cancers in people with Lynch syndrome
Relevance: High
Strength of Science: High
Research Timeline: Post Approval
Most relevant for: People with Lynch syndrome
Research has shown that daily aspirin use can reduce the risk of colon and other cancers. The Cancer Prevention Program 2 (CaPP2) study looked at the effect of daily aspirin in patients with Lynch syndrome. After 10 years of follow-up, the results showed that taking daily aspirin for two years reduced the frequency of colon cancer in patients with Lynch syndrome, and importantly, did not result in an increase in side-effects or complications. No benefit was seen for other Lynch syndrome-related cancers, including endometrial cancer. (5/17/21)
Este artículo está disponible en español.
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Relevance: Medium-High
Strength of Science: Medium-High
Research Timeline: Human Research
Study : Promising research using a PARP inhibitor to treat metastatic breast cancer in people with an inherited PALB2 mutation or a tumor mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2
Relevance: Medium-High
Strength of Science: Medium-High
Research Timeline: Human Research
Most relevant for: People with metastatic breast cancer with an inherited mutation in PALB2 or tumor with a BRCA mutation
Early results of a small study showed that women with metastatic breast cancer and an inherited mutation in PALB2 or an acquired tumor mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 benefitted from the PARP inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza). (6/18/20)
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Relevance: Medium-High
Strength of Science: High
Research Timeline: Human Research
Study : A new breast cancer drug improves overall survival among people with brain and other metastases
Relevance: Medium-High
Strength of Science: High
Research Timeline: Human Research
Most relevant for: People with metastatic breast cancer
A promising new drug called tucatinib combined with standard therapy shows benefit for women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Women who took tucatinib experienced longer progression-free survival (time before their cancer worsened), longer overall survival time and response of cancer (shrinking or disappearing). Strikingly, better outcomes were also seen for women with brain metastases, which is often difficult to treat. (12/20/19)
THIS INFORMATION HAS BEEN UPDATED on 04/17/20: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Tukysa (tucatinib) for use in combination with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and capecitabine for patients with advanced or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, including patients with brain metastases (disease that has spread to the brain). Patients who have received one or more treatments targeting Her2 in the metastic setting are eligible to receive Tukysa. Tukysa is an oral (tablet) tyrosine kinase inhibitor which is taken twice daily.
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Relevance: Medium-Low
Research Timeline: Human Research
Personal Story : A “flu shot” against breast cancer? Not so fast
Relevance: Medium-Low
Research Timeline: Human Research
Most relevant for: Women diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS)
There have been multiple reports in the media of a Florida woman who had a "shot" to treat her DCIS with a promising outcome. This XRAY reviews the underlying story about this early breast cancer vaccine trial. (10/25/19)
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Study : Does eating meat affect breast cancer risk?
Most relevant for: Women with a family history of breast cancer
Eating meat has been suggested to increase breast cancer risk. The recent Sister Study looked at meat type, cooking methods and breast cancer risk in a study of 42,012 women. (9/10/19)
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Relevance: High
Strength of Science: High
Research Timeline: Human Research
Study : Results from the POLO trial: Olaparib may delay cancer progression in metastatic pancreatic cancer patients with BRCA mutations.
Relevance: High
Strength of Science: High
Research Timeline: Human Research
Most relevant for: People diagnosed with pancreatic cancer who have a BRCA mutation
Note: On 12/27/19, the FDA approved olaparib for treatment of pancreatic cancer in people with a BRCA mutation based on the results of the POLO study.
The POLO clinical trial looks at whether the PARP inhibitor olaparib improves outcomes for those with metastatic pancreatic cancer after platinum-based chemotherapy. (7/3/19)
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Relevance: Medium-High
Strength of Science: Medium-High
Research Timeline: Human Research
Study : Smart drug shows promising results for treatment of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer
Relevance: Medium-High
Strength of Science: Medium-High
Research Timeline: Human Research
Most relevant for: People with metastatic, triple-negative breast cancer
THIS INFORMATION HAS BEEN UPDATED on 04/27/20: Based on the results from the study reviewed in this XRAY, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved sacituzumab govitecan-hizy (Trodelvy), as a treatment for people with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer who have received at least two prior therapies for metastatic disease.
We report results of an early-stage clinical trial of a new class of drugs for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). IMMU-132 is a combination of two different molecules: an antibody that targets certain types of cancer and delivers a chemotherapy drug that can kill cancer cells. This study looks at whether IMMU-132 is safe and effective for treating metastatic TNBC. (4/16/19)
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Relevance: High
Strength of Science: Medium-High
Research Timeline: Post Approval
Study : The impact of palbociclib (Ibrance) on overall survival for metastatic breast cancer patients in the PALOMA-3 trial
Relevance: High
Strength of Science: Medium-High
Research Timeline: Post Approval
Most relevant for: People with metastatic, hormone-positive breast cancer
The PALOMA-3 clinical trial showed that a new CDK4/6 inhibitor in combination therapy improved progression-free survival of women treated for hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer in women with prior disease progression after endocrine therapy. This XRAYS reviews a newly published study in the New England Journal of Medicine that looks at overall survival in the original PALOMA-3 study. (1/23/19)
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Personal Story : Pamela Munster's story of cancer in the family
Most relevant for: People with an inherited mutation linked to cancer
In her essay in The Washington Post, Dr. Pamela Munster recounts her family's history with cancer associated with a mutation in the BRCA2 gene. She details her father's extraordinary journey with pancreatic cancer, one of the most aggressive and deadly cancers. (11/27/18)
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Article : The importance of racial diversity in clinical trials
Most relevant for: People who are a member of a racial or ethnic minority group
This article by journalists Caroline Chen and Riley Wong looks at racial disparities between participation in clinical trials and the population of people with cancer. (11/6/18)
Este artículo está disponible en español.
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