Cancer research institute launches a master protocol empowering mechanobiology translation research in Breast Cancer

Photo by Victoria Strukovskaya

The highly technological, non-profit cancer research centre IFOM and the FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology is enrolling patients into the clinical trial investigating A Master Protocol Empowering Mechanobiology Translation Research in Breast Cancer (METAMECH).

METAMECH is a master observational protocol designed to empower a bi-directional collaboration between basic and clinical research, an essential prerequisite to feed and implement precision oncology.

METAMECH will follow a stage-mixed cohort of at least 500 patients through their course of treatments, until death or a minimum of 5 years. Patients will be longitudinally sampled and matched clinical data (including imaging) will be collected. Via a multi-tiered informed consensus process, METAMECH will also allow to develop companion diagnostics for molecular enrichment strategies in AIRC-driven proof-of-concept trials.
METAMECH has been designed to streamline the study of the co-evolutionary landscape between tumor and host cells in a cohort of breast cancer (BC) patients, with the aim of understanding how their outcomes can be significantly improved (e.g. reduction of their chance of recurrence and survival improve). This clinical resource for integrative clinical data and sample collection will allow to generate hypotheses on mechanisms supporting the outgrowth of human metastases, mine for new potentially actionable targets and the selection of appropriate patients for experimentally-driven trials. To achieve the required level of 'experimental precision', patients will enter METAMECH at two different 'therapeutic checkpoints': i) prior to a tumor sampling event (surgery, biopsy) or ii) prior to any line of treatment.

Stage-mixed Breast Cancer (BC) patients can be enrolled into the study.

Patients with the following pathologies:
˗    Any other current malignancy or malignancy diagnosed or relapsed within the past 5 years (other than non-melanomatous skin cancer, stage 0 melanoma in situ, and in situ cervical cancer).
˗    Known Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) or syphilis infection.
are excluded from participation.

This clinical trial is recruiting patients in the following locations: Bergamo, Milan, Novara, Padova, Pavia, Rome in Italy.

This page provides a more detailed overview of this clinical trial: https://ichgcp.net/clinical-trials-registry/NCT04625023.