Breast cancer research

Numerous avenues of research are being implemented by specialists at Institut Curie: 

• Surgeons are participating in the development of a virtual reality tool for modeling surgical procedures. They also train in oncoplasty, using incisions from plastic surgery to remove large portions of the breast without having to resort to total ablation and paying attention to aesthetic aspects. 
• New reconjugated antibodies, new hormone therapies (capable of bypassing tumor resistance), immunotherapy for other indications, as well as new radiotherapy modalities, are regularly the subject of clinical trials. 
• The search for biomarkers characteristic of the tumor, to better target treatments, is also continuing. 
• The detection of circulating tumor cells by a simple blood test is an innovation that would make it possible to better monitor the progression of the disease in its metastatic phase and thus adapt the treatment. 
• Finally, new imaging techniques, such as more efficient PET scans, could help detect recurrences earlier or to know directly whether the detected tumor expresses hormone or HER2 receptors, for example.