current research on breast cancer

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Cancer Information

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Breast Cancer

What Is Breast Cancer?
What Causes Breast Cancer?
Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS)
Invasive Breast Cancer (IDC/ILC)
Triple-negative Breast Cancer
Inflammatory Breast Cancer
Angiosarcoma of the Breast
Paget Disease of the Breast
Phyllodes Tumors
Key Statistics for Breast Cancer

What’s New in Breast Cancer Research?

Breast Cancer Risk Factors You Cannot Change
Lifestyle-related Breast Cancer Risk Factors
Factors with Unclear Effects on Breast Cancer Risk
Disproven or Controversial Breast Cancer Risk Factors
Can I Lower My Risk of Breast Cancer?
Genetic Counseling and Testing for Breast Cancer Risk
Deciding Whether to Use Medicine to Reduce Breast Cancer Risk
Tamoxifen and Raloxifene for Lowering Breast Cancer Risk
Aromatase Inhibitors for Lowering Breast Cancer Risk
Preventive Surgery to Reduce Breast Cancer Risk
American Cancer Society Recommendations for the Early Detection of Breast Cancer
Mammogram Basics
Tips for Getting a Mammogram
What Does the Doctor Look for on a Mammogram?
Getting Called Back After a Mammogram
Understanding Your Mammogram Report
Breast Density and Your Mammogram Report
Limitations of Mammograms
Mammograms After Breast Cancer Surgery
Mammograms for Women with Breast Implants
Breast Ultrasound
Newer and Experimental Breast Imaging Tests
Breast Cancer Signs and Symptoms
Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) of the Breast
Core Needle Biopsy of the Breast
Surgical Breast Biopsy
Questions to Ask Before a Breast Biopsy
Finding Breast Cancer During Pregnancy
Breast Cancer Grades
Breast Cancer Ploidy and Cell Proliferation
Breast Cancer Hormone Receptor Status
Breast Cancer HER2 Status
Breast Cancer Gene Expression Tests
Other Breast Cancer Gene, Protein, and Blood Tests
Imaging Tests to Find Out if Breast Cancer Has Spread
Breast Cancer Stages
Breast Cancer Survival Rates
Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Breast Cancer
Breast-conserving Surgery (Lumpectomy)
Lymph Node Surgery for Breast Cancer
Exercises After Breast Cancer Surgery
Radiation for Breast Cancer
Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer
Hormone Therapy for Breast Cancer
Targeted Drug Therapy for Breast Cancer
Immunotherapy for Breast Cancer
Treatment of Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS)
Treatment of Breast Cancer Stages I-III
Treatment of Stage IV (Metastatic) Breast Cancer
Treatment of Recurrent Breast Cancer
Treatment of Triple-negative Breast Cancer
Treatment of Inflammatory Breast Cancer
Treating Breast Cancer During Pregnancy
Should I Get Breast Reconstruction Surgery?
Breast Reconstruction Alternatives
Breast Reconstruction After Breast-conserving Surgery
Breast Reconstruction Using Implants
Breast Reconstruction Using Your Own Tissues (Flap Procedures)
Reconstructing the Nipple and Areola After Breast Surgery
Questions to Ask Your Surgeon About Breast Reconstruction
Preparing for Breast Reconstruction Surgery
What to Expect After Breast Reconstruction Surgery
Follow-up Care After Breast Cancer Treatment
Can I Lower My Risk of Breast Cancer Progressing or Coming Back?
Body Image and Sexuality After Breast Cancer
Pregnancy After Breast Cancer
Menopausal Hormone Therapy After Breast Cancer
Second Cancers After Breast Cancer
If You Have Breast Cancer
Fibrosis and Simple Cysts
Hyperplasia (Ductal or Lobular)
Lobular Carcinoma in Situ (LCIS)
Fibroadenomas
Intraductal Papillomas
Fat Necrosis and Oil Cysts
Duct Ectasia
Radial Scars and Other Non-cancerous Breast Conditions
Breast Cancer Videos
Breast Cancer Quiz
Infographic: 7 Things to Know About Getting a Mammogram
Frequently Asked Questions About the American Cancer Society’s Breast Cancer Screening Guideline

Researchers around the world are working to find better ways to prevent, detect, and treat breast cancer, and to improve the quality of life of patients and survivors.

Research studies

Breast cancer causes, breast cancer prevention, new tests to personalize your treatment, new imaging tests, breast cancer treatment, supportive care.

Current guidance on preventing and treating breast cancer as well as what might cause it (among other things) has come mainly from information discovered from research studies . Research studies can range from studies done in the lab to clinical trials done with hundreds of thousands of people. Clinical trials are carefully controlled studies that can gather specific information about certain diseases as well as explore promising new treatments.

Clinical trials are one way to get the latest cancer treatments that are being investigated. Still, they are not right for everyone. If you would like to learn more about clinical trials that might be right for you, start by asking your doctor if your clinic or hospital conducts clinical trials, or see Clinical Trials to learn more.

Studies continue to look at how certain lifestyle factors, habits, and other environmental factors, as well as inherited gene changes, might affect breast cancer risk. Here are a few examples:

Several studies are looking at the effects of physical activity, weight gain or loss, and diet on breast cancer risk.
Some breast cancers run in families, but many of the gene mutations (changes) that cause these breast cancers are not yet known. Research is being done to identify these gene changes.
Several studies are focusing on the best use of genetic testing for inherited breast cancer gene mutations.
Scientists are exploring how common gene variants (small changes in genes that are not as significant as mutations) may affect breast cancer risk. Gene variants typically have only a modest effect on risk by themselves, but when combined they could possibly have a large impact.
Possible environmental causes of breast cancer have also received more attention in recent years. While much of the science on this topic is still in its earliest stages, this is an area of active research.

Researchers are looking for ways to help reduce breast cancer risk, especially for women who are at high risk. Here are some examples:

Studies continue to look at whether certain levels of physical activity, losing weight, or eating certain foods, groups of foods, or types of diets might help lower breast cancer risk.
Some hormonal medicines such as tamoxifen, raloxifene, exemestane, and anastrozole have already been shown to help lower breast cancer risk for certain women at higher risk. Researchers continue to study which groups of women might benefit most from these drugs.
Clinical trials are also looking at whether some non-hormonal drugs might lower breast cancer risk, such as drugs used to treat blood or bone marrow disorders, like ruxolitinib.
Studies are looking at vaccines that might help prevent certain types of breast cancer in people who are at high risk for breast cancer (due to presence of hereditary gene mutations or breast cancer in the family).

Breast cancer tissue is routinely tested for the biomarkers ER , PR , and HER2 to help make treatment decisions. A biomarker is any gene, protein, or other substance that can be measured in blood, tissues, or other body fluids. Some studies are looking at whether testing for other biomarkers, such as HER3, might also be helpful, but research on this is still in early phases.

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is DNA that is released into the bloodstream when cancer cells die. Identifying and testing the ctDNA in the blood for biomarkers is a rapidly growing area of study.

Some ways ctDNA might potentially be used in breast cancer include:

Looking for new biomarkers in the tumor cells that might mean the cancer has become resistant to specific treatments (like chemo or targeted drug therapy)
Determining if a certain drug will work on a tumor before trying it
Predicting if the breast cancer will recur (come back) in women with early-stage breast cancer
Predicting if neoadjuvant treatment is working to destroy the tumor instead of using imaging tests like a CT scan or US
Determining if breast cancer or a high-risk breast condition is present before changes are found on an imaging test like a mammogram

Newer types of tests are being developed for breast imaging. Some of these are already being used in certain situations, while others are still being studied. It will take time to see if they are as good as or better than those used today. Some of these tests include:

Scintimammography (molecular breast imaging)
Positron emission mammography (PEM)
Electrical impedance imaging (EIT)
Elastography
New types of optical imaging tests

For more on these tests, see Newer and Experimental Breast Imaging Tests .

New kinds of treatments for breast cancer are always being studied. For example, in recent years, several new targeted drugs have been approved to treat breast cancer.

But more and better treatment options are needed, especially for cancers like triple-negative breast cancer, where chemotherapy is the main option.

Some areas of research involving breast cancer treatment include:

Studying if shorter courses of radiation therapy for very early-stage breast cancers are at least as good as the longer courses now often used
Testing if different types of radiation therapy, such as proton beam radiation, might be better than standard radiation.
Combining certain drugs (like 2 targeted drugs, a targeted drug with an immunotherapy drug, or a hormone drug with a targeted drug) to see if they work better together
Trying to find new drugs or drug combinations that might help treat breast cancer that has spread to the brain
Testing different immunotherapy drugs to treat triple-negative breast cancer
Giving cancer vaccines to see if this helps keep the cancer from either worsening or coming back after treatment. There are many ways in which cancer vaccines work. For example, protein vaccines stimulate the immune system to recognize and attack specific cancer proteins. DNA vaccines contain DNA instructions so that once the vaccine is given, the DNA will instruct your body to make protein(s) to help the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells.
Finding new ways to treat women with hereditary breast cancer, since they have a higher chance of the cancer recurring (coming back)
Determining if chemotherapy is needed to treat every woman with HER2-positive breast cancer
Finding new treatment options when breast cancer becomes resistant to current treatments

Supportive care helps patients and caregivers manage the symptoms of cancer and side effects of cancer treatment. Clinical trials are looking at different medicines and techniques to try to improve supportive care for people with breast cancer. For example, some studies are investigating:

If there are better medicines or ways to prevent the damage to nerves that sometimes happen with certain chemotherapy drugs
If drugs or other treatments might be helpful in limiting memory problems and other brain symptoms after chemotherapy
If certain heart or blood pressure drugs, can help prevent the heart damage sometimes caused by common breast cancer drugs such as doxorubicin and trastuzumab
If there are medicines that might be able to help treat the tired feeling that cancer can cause

Breast Cancer Research Highlights

The Society's research program has played a crucial role in saving lives from breast cancer. See examples of our current research.

The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team

Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as editors and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.

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Cullinane C, Fleming C, O’Leary DP, et al. Association of Circulating Tumor DNA With Disease-Free Survival in Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(11):e2026921. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.26921.

Cuzick, J et al. Anastrozole for prevention of breast cancer in high-risk postmenopausal women (IBIS-II): an international, double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial. The Lancet. 2014;383 (9922):1041 - 1048.

Goss, P.E., et al., Exemestane for Breast-Cancer Prevention in Postmenopausal Women . New England Journal of Medicine , 2011. 364(25): p. 2381-2391.

Greene LR, Wilkinson D. The role of general nuclear medicine in breast cancer. J Med Radiat Sci . 2015;62(1):54-65.

Henry NL, Bedard PL, and DeMichele A. Standard and Genomic Tools for Decision Support in Breast Cancer Treatment. In Dizon DS, Pennel N, Rugo HS, Pickell LF, eds. 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology Educational Book. 53 rd Annual Meeting. 2017.

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Litton JK, Burstein HJ, Turner NC. Molecular Testing in Breast Cancer. Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book . 2019 Jan;39:e1-e7. doi: 10.1200/EDBK_237715. Epub 2019 May 17.

Magbanua MJM, Swigart LB, Wu HT, et al. Circulating tumor DNA in neoadjuvant-treated breast cancer reflects response and survival. Ann Oncol . 2021;32(2):229-239. doi:10.1016/j.annonc.2020.11.007.

Mayer IA, Dent R, Tan T, et al. Novel Targeted Agents and Immunotherapy in Breast Cancer. In Dizon DS, Pennel N, Rugo HS, Pickell LF, eds. 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology Educational Book. 53 rd Annual Meeting. 2017.

National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/clinical-trials/search. A Vaccine (Alpha-Lactalbumin) for the Treatment of Stage II-III Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. Accessed January 19, 2022.

National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/clinical-trials/search. Bexarotene in Preventing Breast Cancer in Patients at High Risk for Breast Cancer. Accessed August 15, 2019.

National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/clinical-trials/search. Donepezil Hydrochloride in Improving Memory Performance in Breast Cancer Survivors after Chemotherapy. Accessed August 15, 2019.

National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/clinical-trials/search. Ruxolitinib in Preventing Breast Cancer in Patients with High Risk and Precancerous Breast Lesions. Accessed August 15, 2019.

National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/clinical-trials/search. Testing the Addition of a Blood Pressure Medication, Carvedilol, to HER-2 Targeted Therapy for Metastatic Breast Cancer to Prevent Cardiac Toxicity. Accessed August 15, 2019.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Breast Cancer. Last reviewed November 15, 2021. Accessed January 19, 2022. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/conditions/breast-cancer/index.cfm.

Rossi G, Mu Z, Rademaker AW, Austin LK, Strickland KS, Costa RLB et al. Cell-Free DNA and Circulating Tumor Cells: Comprehensive Liquid Biopsy Analysis in Advanced Breast Cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2018 Feb 1;24(3):560-568.

Shoukry M, Broccard S, Kaplan J, Gabriel E. The Emerging Role of Circulating Tumor DNA in the Management of Breast Cancer. Cancers (Basel) . 2021;13(15):3813. Published 2021 Jul 29. doi:10.3390/cancers13153813.

Solin LJ, Gray R, Baehner FL, et al. A multigene expression assay to predict local recurrence risk for ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast. J Natl Cancer Inst . 2013;105:701-710.

Yu M, Bardia A, Aceto N et al. Ex vivo culture of circulating breast tumor cells for individualized testing of drug susceptibility. Science . 2014 Jul 11; 345(6193): 216–220.

Last Revised: February 15, 2024

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