Key Facts:
- Blood tests detecting circulating tumour DNA could help guide treatment for triple negative breast cancer patients
- Absence of tumour DNA in blood tests linked to better patient outcomes and improved long-term survival
- Neo-N clinical trial explored combining immunotherapy with shorter chemotherapy duration for early-stage triple negative breast cancer
- Study involved 108 participants across Australia, New Zealand and Italy, showing promising pathological complete response rates
- Findings could reduce reliance on lengthy chemoimmunotherapy treatments, which often cause significant side effects
EMBARGOED until 1am Friday 12th December 2025: Australian-led research has shown that a series of blood tests to detect 'circulating tumour DNA', could help inform the future of triple negative breast cancer treatment.
The tests look for tiny fragments of tumour DNA that have been released by the breast cancer into the blood. Researchers found that when this tumour DNA could not be detected before or during treatment, women were more likely to have no remaining signs of cancer at the time of surgery and had better long-term survival outcomes.
This means that by using a series of blood tests on tumour tissue to detect circulating tumour DNA, it may be possible to see if the treatment received prior to surgery is sufficient, or whether more treatment either before or after surgery is warranted.
The results of the Neo-N clinical trial, led by Professor Sherene Loi and coordinated by Australian research charity Breast Cancer Trials (BCT), will be announced at the international San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in the United States on Thursday 11th December.
The Neo-N clinical trial is a randomised phase II trial that examined whether adding newer immunotherapy treatments to shorter duration chemotherapy before surgery can safely and effectively treat early-stage triple negative breast cancer—an aggressive form of the disease. The primary study results demonstrated excellent pathological complete response rates, indicating a strong response to treatment.
Currently, patients with early stage triple negative breast cancer often need long duration multi-agent chemoimmunotherapy, which can cause significant side effects. This study is exploring whether some of that chemotherapy can be safely replaced with immunotherapy while still achieving strong results for patients.
Study Chair Professor Sherene Loi explained that these results could mean a new horizon for triple negative breast cancer, which accounts for approximately 15% of all breast cancers diagnosed.
"Clearance of circulating tumour DNA indicates that the treatment on the tumour appears to be working and killing off the cancer," explained Professor Loi. "Triple negative is a type of breast cancer that is lacking features we can target, unlike other breast cancer types, making it a difficult breast cancer to treat, so these latest results are an exciting breakthrough."
Breast cancer advocate and member of BCT's Consumer Advisory Panel, Naveena Nekkalapudi, was diagnosed with triple negative cancer 11 years ago, when she was just 39. Back then, chemotherapy after surgery and radiotherapy were the only treatment options available for this subtype of breast cancer. After surgery, 16 rounds of chemotherapy and 30 rounds of radiation, she was forced to retire early from her executive level career due to the lifelong side effects, including nerve damage, chronic pain, fatigue and insomnia.
"Triple negative breast cancer has been the poor cousin for far too long, with fewer treatment options, more aggressive tumours, and often affecting younger people," she said. "Chemotherapy, while lifesaving, can severely impact quality of life for triple negative breast cancer patients, so it's great to see there are more specific and targeted treatments emerging from trials such as Neo-N."
The Neo-N trial ran at 18 institutions in Australia and New Zealand, and an institution in Italy, with a total of 108 participants with triple negative breast cancer.
