Dr. Boughey: Hello, my name is Judy Boughey and I'm a breast surgeon at Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
Dr. Goetz: And I'm Matthew Goetz, a breast medical oncologist.
Dr. Boughey: We are the leaders of the BEAUTY2 clinical trial. I want to take a few moments to describe this impactful study and the opportunity it provides.
Dr. Goetz: BEAUTY2 is a clinical trial that is focused on patients who have completed chemotherapy for a diagnosis of triple negative breast cancer and are planning to undergo surgery. This trial is focused on those women who likely have some cancer remaining in the breast prior to surgery. This group of women is at high risk of recurrence, and our focus is to improve the outcome for these women.
Dr. Boughey: The BEAUTY2 clinical trial is designed to test a drug called abemacyclib.
Dr. Goetz: Abemaciclib is a CDK4 and 6 inhibitor which is FDA approved for women with a diagnosis of estrogen receptor positive breast cancer that has spread. Importantly, abemacyclib has been shown to prolong the survival in women whose breast cancer is resistant to standard endocrine therapies.
Dr. Boughey: At this time you may ask why are we studying a drug for estrogen receptor positive breast cancer in women with triple negative breast cancer?
Dr. Goetz: Well, in our previous study from the BEAUTY team, BEAUTY1, we determined that CDK4 and 6 inhibitors had a new and previously unidentified anti-cancer effect, inhibiting the metastatic spread of triple negative breast cancer. Additional work has shown that abemaciclib may also activate the immune system. Also, there are data demonstrating that abemacyclib may inhibit the growth of certain triple negative breast cancers.
Dr. Boughey: So the goal of BEAUTY2 is to study this drug, abemacyclib, for women with triple negative breast cancer who have disease remaining in the breast after standard chemotherapy. The overall goal of our study is to determine whether abemacyclib is able to activate the immune system and inhibit the proteins critical to the metastatic spread of triple negative breast cancer.
Dr. Goetz: This is a study where you would take abemacyclib, an oral tablet, twice a day for two to three weeks in the window between finishing chemotherapy and your surgery. It will not delay your surgery.
Dr. Boughey: We are looking for women with triple negative breast cancer who may have some cancer remaining in the breast after chemotherapy based on imaging such as mammogram, ultrasound or MRI performed after chemotherapy was completed.
Dr. Goetz: In order to find out more information about this study, please look at the following website that is shown on your screen. Fill out a contact form or leave a message for our study team at 855-776-0015. You may feel more comfortable having your medical oncologist contact the BEAUTY2 team, and this is fine also. Patients on this study need to have their surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota; Jacksonville, Florida; or Phoenix, Arizona.
Dr. Boughey: If you are interested, contact the BEAUTY team while you are on chemotherapy for your triple negative breast cancer so we can coordinate your optimal care while being a part of this breast cancer study.
Dr. Goetz: Thank you for your interest in BEAUTY2.