Project Funding Details

Lay abstract (no permission to release technical abstract): The goal of this Program is to establish a pan Canadian collaborative of scientists and clinicians to improve the care of young women with breast cancer. Members have already studied recurrence and survival in a large cohort of 1451 young women with breast cancer in a retrospective study and will build on this previous work. The current Program has 4 main objectives: 1) Surgeons from across Canada will recruit young women with breast cancer at the time of diagnosis. Clinical information, tumour tissue and blood samples will be collected and processed centrally at the host institutions’ existing biobank for further study and, linkage to predictors of important clinical outcomes such as recurrence, death and quality of life measures; 2) Molecular signatures of women who sustain a recurrence will be mapped to identify which patients and tumour types are likely to recur and will allow clinicians to better personalize treatments in the future; 3) Risk factors for breast cancer and preventative influences including vitamin D, inflammation and lifestyle factors will be evaluated; 4) A scoping and systematic review will be performed to identify additional knowledge gaps pertaining to the etiology and treatment of breast cancer in young women not addressed in this proposal to direct future research. The collaborative consists of both scientists and clinical personnel and as a consequence, will facilitate the growth and development of existing clinical programs specifically targeting very young women. It will also provide a conduit for bringing research findings into clinical practice.

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