09/11/2020

AURORA, a GPS programme for metastatic breast cancer: BIG (Breast International Group) and the Jules Bordet Institute Brussels

In 2018 an estimated 130,000 people in Europe died because their breast cancer metastasised.  When breast cancer metastasises, it spreads to other parts of the body. This advanced form of the disease is more difficult to treat and remains incurable (WHO - Globocan - gco.iarc.fr).

The AURORA study led by BIG (Breast International Group) aims to identify why and how breast cancer metastasises and why certain metastases respond exceptionally well or not at all to certain types of treatment.

In August 2020, 1,000 women and men from 66 different hospitals in 12 European countries (amongst them the Jules Bordet Institute) had joined the study and will be monitored for up to 10 years. Researchers will analyse the genetic profile of participants’ tumour tissue and blood to map the evolution of the disease.

Because of the great interest from around the world in AURORA’s very rich and unique data, BIG is extending the study to recruit up to an additional 1,000 women and men, if enough funding can be secured. The knowledge gained from AURORA will one day lead to better treatments and – we hope – to cures for the women and men affected by this deadly disease.

Professor Martine Piccart (BIG, Jules Bordet Institute) talks about the AURORA study (in Dutch and French)
Read more about the AURORA study
Read the press release about the first results of the AURORA study
Read the entire study published in Cancer Discovery
Find out more about BIG against breast cancer
Find out more about the other studies led by BIG against breast cancer