Investigators from the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center will present a wide range of new breast cancer research at the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), highlighting advances in early detection, precision medicine, artificial intelligence, treatment-related side-effect management and insights into high-risk subgroups.
At this year's scientific meeting, Dr. Aditya Bardia , director of the Breast Oncology Program and Translational Research Integration at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, will present results from the phase 3 lidERA trial, which looks at giredestrant vs standard-of-care endocrine therapy as adjuvant treatment for patients with estrogen receptor-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer. The findings will be highlighted during General Session 1 on Wednesday, Dec. 10 from 9:30am to 12pm CST in Hall 1 and are part of the SABCS news briefing.
"By combining clinical research with advanced technologies, we're learning how to predict, prevent and treat breast cancer more effectively than ever before," said Bardia. "Our work at UCLA shows how precision medicine can help tailor therapies to each patient's unique needs and improve quality of life."
Notable studies presented by UCLA researchers include:
Dr. Cheng Cheng, from the department of medicine at UCLA, will present new findings from the I-SURV study, which evaluated how monitoring circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in patients treated for early-stage breast cancer using a blood test called a liquid biopsy affects patients' emotional well-being. In this prospective study, most participants did not meet criteria for anxiety or depression while awaiting ctDNA results. Most participants received negative ctDNA results — meaning no cancer was detected — which was associated with improvements in the percentage of patients with anxiety and fear of cancer recurrence, as well as overall well-being. However, a single participant with a positive ctDNA result experienced heightened distress. Overall, nearly all respondents valued receiving the testing information and expressed interest in continuing testing, highlighting its potential role in supporting survivorship care and the need for larger studies involving more patients. The study, led by Dr. Marla Lipsyc-Sharf , a health sciences clinical instructor in the division of hematology/oncology at UCLA Health, will be presented on Thursday, Dec. 11 from 7 to 8:30am CST during the Poster Spotlight 5: Liquid Biomarkers in Breast Cancer—Driving Precision Medicine.
Dr. Samer Alkassis , a clinical instructor in the division of hematology/oncology at UCLA, will discuss new research examining how often hair loss occurs in patients with metastatic breast cancer treated with the ADCs trastuzumab deruxtecan and sacituzumab govitecan, and whether scalp cooling offers protection. The study, co-led by Dr. Rena Callahan , an associate clinical professor of medicine at UCLA, reviewed 10 years of patient records at UCLA to track who developed alopecia, who used cold caps, and whether cooling made a difference. They found that hair loss was common across both drugs, even in patients who did not have hair loss before starting treatment. Only a small number of patients used cold caps, and among those who did, the protection seemed minimal, with many still losing hair. These findings highlight the need for better strategies to prevent treatment-related hair loss and to advance the development of ADCs that minimize this challenging side effect. The research will be presented during Poster Session 1 on Wednesday, Dec. 10 from 12 to 2pm CST.
Dr. Alexis LeVee , a clinical instructor in the division of hematology/oncology at UCLA, will present new research showing that simple immune-related blood markers taken before treatment may help predict which patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer are less likely to respond to neoadjuvant immunotherapy with chemotherapy. In this multi-institutional study of 372 patients, those with a high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio — a marker of inflammation — or low absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) at baseline were significantly less likely to achieve a pathologic complete response, meaning no cancer was detectable at surgery after the treatment. The findings suggest a simple blood test could help identify which patients may need closer monitoring or additional strategies to boost their immune response. The findings will be discussed during Poster Session 4 on Thursday, Dec. 11 from 5 to 6:30pm CST.
Dr. Nicholas McAndrew , an assistant clinical professor of medicine at UCLA, will share findings from a study evaluating whether an artificial intelligence tool can more accurately identify which patients with early-stage hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer are at the highest risk of recurrence, and therefore most likely to benefit from adjuvant CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy. In an analysis of more than 2,200 patients, the AI model, called Ataraxis Breast, outperformed current clinical criteria by pinpointing high-risk patients who are overlooked today and identifying lower-risk patients who may not need additional treatment. The findings suggest AI-driven pathology assessment could help refine CDK4/6 inhibitor eligibility and move the field toward more precise, individualized treatment selection. The research will be presented during Poster Session 3 on Thursday, Dec. 11 from 12:30 to 2pm CST.
Dr. Lisa Zhang, a hematology/oncology fellow at UCLA, will present new data demonstrating that breast cancers diagnosed within three years after childbirth display distinct, higher-risk molecular characteristics compared with cancers diagnosed later or in women who have never given birth. In a cohort of young women with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, tumors diagnosed in the first three years postpartum showed significantly higher 21-gene recurrence scores, were more often classified into higher 21-gene recurrence risk categories, and had higher histologic grades. These differences were not seen in cancers diagnosed outside the early postpartum window. The findings indicate that breast cancer occurring within three years after childbirth may represent a particularly biologically distinct and clinically aggressive subtype, supporting a narrower definition of postpartum breast cancer that focuses on this period. The study, co-led by Dr. Nimmi Kapoor , associate professor of surgery at UCLA, in translational collaboration with the Paul Spellman Lab , will be presented during Poster Session 3 on Thursday, Dec. 11 from 12:30 to 2pm CST.
The full online program: https://sabcs.org/events/
