Departments and specialties

Mayo Clinic has one of the largest and most experienced practices in the United States, with campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota. Staff skilled in dozens of specialties work together to ensure quality care and successful recovery.

Research

Laboratory technician

A laboratory technician prepares samples for testing.

Mayo Clinic researchers have a rich history in advancing precision medicine for breast cancer. Accomplishments in this area include:

  • Finding new treatments for breast cancer.
  • Identifying an enzyme that regulates DNA repair.
  • Identifying subsets of people with breast cancer who do not benefit from medicines called aromatase inhibitors.
  • Identifying variations in the enzyme CYP2D6, which helps explain why some people with breast cancer don't respond to tamoxifen.
  • Developing a new medicine to replace tamoxifen for people with low CYP2D6 enzyme activity.
  • Developing a new medicine for breast cancer that is resistant to aromatase inhibitors.
  • Identifying mechanisms for why some people do not respond to endocrine treatment, and then developing a new medicine for breast cancer.

Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center is one of a handful of facilities that received a U.S. National Cancer Institute Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant for breast cancer research. Learn more about the Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer SPORE.

Publications

See a list of publications about breast cancer by Mayo Clinic doctors on PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine.

Research Profiles

July 11, 2024
  1. Jorde LB, et al., eds. Genetics and precision medicine. In: Medical Genetics. 6th ed. Elsevier; 2020. htps://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed Dec. 21, 2023.
  2. Cyr AE, et al. Individualizing breast cancer risk assessment in clinical practice. Surgical Oncology Clinics of North America. 2023; doi:10.1016/j.soc.2023.05.013.
  3. Khan SA. Breast cancer risk reduction: Current status and emerging trends to increase efficacy and reduce toxicity of preventive medication. Surgical Oncology Clincs of North America. 2023; doi:10.1016/j.soc.2023.05.001.
  4. Reizine NM, et al. Modern developments in germline pharmacogenomics for oncology prescribing. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 2022; doi:10.3322/caac.21722.
  5. Biomarker testing for cancer treatment. National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/biomarker-testing-cancer-treatment. Accessed Dec. 22, 2023.
  6. Liu T, et al. CDK4/6-dependent activation of DUB3 regulates cancer metastasis through SNAIL1. Nature Communications. 2017; doi:10.1038/ncomms13923.
  7. Luo K, et al. A phosphorylation-deubiquitination cascade regulates the BRCA2-RAD51 axis in homologous recombination. Genes & Development. 2016; doi:10.1101/gad.289439.116.
  8. Ingle JN, et al. Genetic polymorphisms in the long noncoding RNA MIR2052HG offer a pharmacogenomic basis for the response of breast cancer patients to aromatase inhibitor therapy. Cancer Research. 2016; doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-16-1371.
  9. Goetz MP, et al. CYP2D6 metabolism and patient outcome in the Austrian breast and colorectal cancer study group trial (ABCSG) 8. Clinical Cancer Research. 2013; doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-12-2153.
  10. Goetz MP, et al. First-in-human phase I study of the tamoxifen metabolite z-endoxifen in women with endocrine-refractory metastatic breast cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2017; doi:10.1200/JCO.2017.73.3246.
  11. D'Assoro AB, et al. The mitotic kinase Aurora-A promotes distant metastases by inducing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in ERα+ breast cancer cells. Oncogene. 2013; doi:10.1038/onc.2012.628.
  12. Ingle JN, et al. Estrogens and their precursors in postmenopausal women with early breast cancer receiving anastrozole. Steroids. 2015; doi:10.1016/j.steroids.2014.08.007.
  13. Jayaraman S, et al. Endoxifen, an estrogen receptor targeted therapy: From bench to bedside. Endocrinology. 2021; doi:10.1210/endocr/bqab191.
  14. Goetz MP, et al. Tumor sequencing and patient-derived xenografts in the neoadjuvant treatment of breast cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 2017; doi:10.1093/jnci/djw306.
  15. Hu C, et al. Classification of BRCA2 variants of uncertain significance (VUS) using an ACMG/AMP model incorporating a homology-directed repair (HDR) functional assay. Clinical Cancer Research. 2022; doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-22-0203.
  16. Couch FJ, et al. Associations between cancer predisposition testing panel genes and breast cancer. JAMA Oncology. 2017; doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2017.0424.
  17. Precision medicine initiative cohort program biobank. NIH RePORTER. https://reporter.nih.gov/search/QPpHrqO3ekG7Z4TLi-I3RA/project-details/10489966. Accessed Nov. 15, 2023.
  18. Biobank. National Institutes of Health. https://allofus.nih.gov/funding-and-program-partners/biobank. Accessed Nov. 15, 2023.
  19. 13th conference invited speakers. International Society for Applied Biological Sciences. https://isabs.hr/13th-conference-invited-speakers. Accessed Nov. 15, 2023.
  20. Founding members. Pharmacogenomics Global Research Network. https://pgrn.org/founders. Accessed Nov. 15, 2023.
  21. Members. Personalized Medicine Coalition. https://www.personalizedmedicinecoalition.org/membership/current-members. Accessed Nov. 15, 2023.
  22. Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) Network. National Human Genome Research Institute. https://www.genome.gov/Funded-Programs-Projects/Electronic-Medical-Records-and-Genomics-Network-eMERGE. Accessed Nov. 15, 2023.
  23. Member institutions. Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. https://www.allianceforclinicaltrialsinoncology.org/main/public/standard.xhtml?path=%2FPublic%2FInstitutions. Accessed Nov. 15, 2023.
  24. Fowler GC, et al., eds. Pfenninger and Fowler's Procedures for Primary Care. 4th ed. Elsevier; 2020. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed May 10, 2024.

Precision medicine for breast cancer