The United States-Latin America Cancer Research Network (US-LA CRN) launched its first breast cancer pilot study in 2010 in 29 hospitals and research facilities in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay. The primary goal is to characterize molecular profile distribution (luminal A, luminal B, HER2-like, and basal) in Latin American women with non-metastatic stage II or III breast cancer. Molecular profiles are correlated with epidemiological, histological, and clinical data, including pathologic response to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy. This prospective cohort study (1) will not dispense investigational drugs, (2) will characterize molecular profiles of breast cancer in Latin America and (3) will examine associations between response to neoadjuvant therapy and molecular profiles. Tissue samples for gene expression profiling will be collected during routine core biopsies or surgery. Core biopsies and surgical resection specimens will undergo histopathologic evaluation and tumor ER, PgR, HER2, and Ki67 status assessment. Next, patients will be sorted by hormone receptor and HER2 status and receive standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Tissue samples will be re-assessed for residual cancer burden for pathologic response to neoadjuvant treatment and gene expression. Five-year patient follow-up will determine associations between molecular profiles and disease evolution after standard treatment. Besides providing data on the effectiveness of standard chemotherapy in Latin American women, the study will establish biobanks in participating countries to conduct new clinical trials on complex genomic and pathologic biomarkers and investigational therapies. Studying the molecular profile of breast cancer in Latin America will improve diagnosis and treatment, correlate molecular subtypes with long-term survival and response to therapy, and identify indolent-disease subpopulations of cancer patients, perhaps enabling future personalized cancer management. Dr. Gomez will provide outcomes of the study to date and reflect on the implications of creating international biobanking repositories and gene studies in Latin America.

Citation Format: Jorge Gomez. Molecular profiling of stage II and III breast cancer in Latin American women receiving standard-of-care treatment. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fifth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2012 Oct 27-30; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(10 Suppl):Abstract nr PL05-05.