Under the CULTURE/AWARD-YR/0220/0041

In the era of precision medicine, efforts are coordinated towards tailoring medical treatment to the individual characteristics of each patient to achieve the right therapy, in the right patient at the right time. Despite advances in therapeutics, a large proportion of breast cancer patients continues to demonstrate no response to available treatments, resistance to certain drugs and/ or intolerance to treatment due to toxicity. The need to expand current knowledge on key genetic and molecular drivers of this heterogenous disease is urgent and the identification of biomarkers adopting the precision medicine paradigm is essential.

The main objective of the project «precision medicine in breast cancer: biomarker identification» run by the Translational Research & Precision Medicine Team at the Cyprus Cancer Research Institute is to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the biology of breast cancer through the identification of novel biomarkers following the precision medicine paradigm.

The project will create new and strengthen existing collaborations amongst the members of the CCRI organisations, enhancing the significance of multidisciplinary approaches in cancer research. New scientific knowledge, skills and expertise will be generated allowing for the expansion of the research organisations’ portfolio. Current clinical service will be largely benefited by the knowledge and experience exchange between bench and bedside.

RESULTS

The preliminary results of the “Precision Medicine in Breast Cancer: Biomarker Identification” project were presented in the recent 1st Cyprus Oncology Congress held in Nicosia 6-8 February 2025.
In the context of this project, 100 breast cancer cases have been analyzed in relation to the expression of MDK. Promising results suggest that MDK can help identify early response or resistance to therapy in metastatic breast cancer.
The project aspires to analyze more cases with both early and metastatic breast cancer to fully define the prognostic and predictive role of this biomarker.

More details can be found in the e-poster as presented in the congress.

“Precision Medicine in Breast Cancer: Biomarker Identification” is the first Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF)-funded project in CCRI, initiated in July 2022 and led by Dr. Anastasia Constantinidou, the Group Leader of the Translational Research and Precision Medicine Institutional Team at CCRI.