New Technique Predicts Tumor Response to Breast Cancer Treatment

A research team from the University of Leicester may have found a way to improve breast cancer care by predicting how a patient’s tumor will respond to treatments before therapy begins. Their method — developed using patient tumor samples tested in a lab setting — could help doctors identify effective treatments faster and avoid unnecessary side effects for patients.

Why Personalized Treatment Matters

Despite advances in breast cancer detection and care, the disease remains the most common cancer among women, with 2.3 million new cases reported each year. Tragically, over 670,000 women still lose their lives to breast cancer annually. The challenge lies in finding treatments that work for each patient, as one-size-fits-all approaches often fall short for more difficult-to-treat tumors.

What the Study Found

The research — supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Leicester Biomedical Research Centre — involved tumor samples from 55 breast cancer patients. These patient-derived explants (PDEs) retained their original structure and immune environment in the lab for up to 72 hours. The team observed how these explants responded to chemotherapy and HER2-targeted therapy and compared the results to actual patient outcomes.

The findings were significant. Tumors that responded to treatments in the lab generally mirrored how they behaved in the patient. This correlation suggests that the PDE method could help doctors predict whether a treatment will work before prescribing it.

Rethinking Treatment Decisions

Cancer treatments like chemotherapy can be grueling, and when they don’t work, patients lose precious time and endure avoidable side effects. By testing a tumor’s response in the lab first, doctors could skip ineffective options and move more quickly to treatments with a higher chance of success.

What’s Next

The University of Leicester team believes that with further research, the PDE technique could become a game-changer in breast cancer care. If widely adopted, it could give oncologists a powerful tool to create more personalized treatment plans — offering hope for better outcomes and a higher quality of life for patients.

This innovative method highlights the potential for lab testing to refine cancer care — and shows how combining patient-specific data with precision testing could transform the future of breast cancer treatment.