Improving understanding of the treatment of breast cancer

1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime - It remains the most common cancer in the UK.

Recent progress has seen marked and sustained improvements in the diagnosis and management of breast cancer patients in the UK.

Currently, around 80% of patients diagnosed with breast cancer survive their disease beyond 10 years. This is a substantial improvement compared to a patient survival rate of 40% in the 1970s.

Despite these advances, patients continue to present with breast cancer recurrence within the breast or chest area from which the original cancer was removed from, and/or in the lymph glands under the arms. This is called locoregional recurrence (LRR). Patients diagnosed with LRR may be suitable for subsequent treatments which include resection of the LRR, as well as additional treatments which reduce the risk of re-recurrence. However, the optimal treatment pathway and patient prognosis remains unclear due to the lack of high quality research.

The MARECA study (a multi-site study) has received funding from Leeds Hospitals Charity and aims to address this research gap to better inform patients and to enable treatment tailoring to improve patient outcomes.  Patients in Leeds who present with LRR will be invited to take part in the study, which collects and compares information about the LRR and the original cancer.

The study will improve understanding of how LRR is being treated in across the UK. Leeds Hospitals Charity funding will fund a Clinical Trials Coordinator to oversee the Leeds based element of the study.