Enrollment closed
The METAMORPH Study is no longer enrolling patients into this trial.
Comprehensive Genomic Testing and Treatment Matching for Patients with Recurrent Breast Cancer
No Longer Enrolling
The METAMORPH study enrolled patients who had suspected or confirmed recurrent, metastatic breast cancer and who had not yet started a new therapy for recurrent disease. Typically, recurrent disease is treated based on the biology of the primary tumor. However, research suggests that some recurrent cancers are different from the primary tumor and may respond better to different therapies. The METAMORPH study aimed to evaluate a more comprehensive approach to assessing and treating recurrent disease.
The goal of the study was to examine markers in blood, bone marrow and tumor tissue to better understand and track the molecular and genetic changes that occur as an individual's disease progresses.
From the testing performed as part of this study, we generated a unique "fingerprint" of a patient's metastatic tumor that helped us understand the unique features that allow a patient's tumor to grow and travel throughout the body. This fingerprint consists of gene changes within cells that can turn on different pathways that in turn send signals instructing the cells to grow and spread. By targeting specific gene changes and pathways, our goal was to stop the metastatic tumor cells, which can lead to better clinical responses and prolonged survival.
The results of this research will be used to improve the treatment and prevention of breast cancer, particularly metastatic disease, in the future.
Genomic Testing
Cancer is often the result of genetic change in cells. One of the goals of the METAMORPH study was to identify genetic changes that may have occurred within the tumor or the tumor cells that reside in the blood and bone marrow. The collected tumor sample was sent for genomic profiling at Penn's Center for Personalized Diagnostics.