Does a mutation in the estrogen receptor influence the outcome on first-line chemotherapy treatment in patients with metastatic breast cancer?

Project summary

Patients with metastasizing and hormone-sensitive breast cancer are treated by blocking estrogen. However, tumors often acquire a ESR1 mutation, which renders the tumor insensitive to hormone therapy. ESR1 mutated tumors most likely grow faster, which makes them sensitive to chemotherapy.
With the current project, scientists will investigate how women with hormone sensitive breast cancer, who recently became hormone therapy insensitive react to chemotherapy and whether the number of ESR1 tumor cells decrease during chemotherapy.

This study has as purpose to offer an alternative therapy to breast cancer patients who became insensitive to hormone therapy.