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Shaping the future of biomarker research in breast cancer to ensure clinical relevance

An Erratum to this article was published on 01 May 2007

Abstract

Each year, over 200,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. Although the use of biomarkers has the potential to guide preventive interventions and improve survival and quality of life, there have been few successes and many disappointments. In November 2005, the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund convened a conference aimed at developing a patient-centred, strategic approach to breast cancer biomarker research. The consumers, clinicians, researchers, industry representatives and US regulators who served on the consensus panel developed a set of principles and recommendations to guide the field and ensure that biomarker research results in clinically important applications.

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Acknowledgements

The National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund (NBCCF) thanks the Strategic Consensus Conference panelists, the conference planning committee and, in particular, the consumers and scientists that worked on a pre-conference Lessons Learned Research Project: D. Berry, C. Brunswick, K. Dickersin, H. Hill, M. Mayer, H. Schiff and J. Perlmutter. The Strategic Consensus Conference was made possible thanks to generous funding provided by the Regis Foundation for Breast Cancer Research, the Virginia Clinton Kelley Fund of the NBCCF, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Hurricane Voices.

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Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Carolina Hinestrosa.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

In 2006, the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund (NBCCF) received financial support from Genomic Health, Inc. (the manufacturer of Oncotype Dx) which amounted to less that 1% of its budget. NBCCF is a collaborator in the TAILOR clinical trial, an NCI funded study that uses Oncotype Dx.

Pamela Kelin is employed by and owns stock in Genentech, Inc.

Dennis Slamon is on Genentech's speaker's bureau and sanofi–aventis speaker's bureau.

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DATABASES

National Cancer Institute

breast cancer

FURTHER INFORMATION

National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund

Strategic Consensus Conference on Biomarker Research in Breast Cancer

NCI Central Institutional Review Board Initiative

Project LEAD

Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments

Association of Clinical Oncologists

National Comprehensive Cancer Network

Breast Cancer Intergroup of North America

Breast International Group

National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project

NCI Cooperative Breast Cancer Tissue Resource

NCI's Cancer Diagnosis Program

Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health

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Hinestrosa, M., Dickersin, K., Klein, P. et al. Shaping the future of biomarker research in breast cancer to ensure clinical relevance. Nat Rev Cancer 7, 309–315 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc2113

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