Mutation-Directed Therapy for Metastatic Breast Cancer

Molecular testing has been promoted as the next step in the evolution of cancer care that will allow for more precision when making treatment decisions. However, the application of molecular testing to a broad fraction of advanced breast cancer patients has been constrained by limitations in testing and a lack of therapeutic options. With the widespread availability of assays to evaluate circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), the challenge of obtaining real-time assessment of tumors has been addressed.

Now, U.K. investigators have conducted an industry-funded, multicenter, prospective, open-label, phase IIa study (plasmaMATCH) to assess the utility of ctDNA testing to direct therapy for 143 metastatic breast cancer patients with rare but potentially…