Our belief is that by adding proactive imaging to standard follow-up care for high-risk breast cancer survivors a large portion of patients will be found with early stage, highly-treatable metastases that can be treated effectively to give them much improved survival and quality of life. This is a collaborative effort of the cancer centers of the University of Florida and the University of Miami; applying the imaging research technologies in Dr. Walter O’Dell’s lab with the clinical base and experience at the UF Health Cancer Center and the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Under this award we will perform the first proactive imaging study of high-risk breast cancer patients to document the first incidence of metastatic spread; we will measure patterns of the initial clinical (symptomatic) presentation of metastases; and we will apply this new information to extend and strengthen mathematical models of when and where metastases spread. Through this work we will create a direct path to a national clinical trial to evaluate the benefit of combining proactive imaging with targeted therapy of breast cancer metastases. We will also create a path for integrating evolving discoveries from tumor biology into imaging-based risk assessment and optimal follow-up care of breast cancer patients who are at high risk of developing metastases.
