Strategies to incorporate translational research science into clinical trials in breast cancer

The advent of molecular oncology, accompanied by a whole new range of high-throughput experimental methods and their related technologies, has revealed that breast cancer is a complex disease and has led researchers to realize that the current approach to its treatment needs to be restructured. With clinical trials being the medium through which new knowledge generated by basic research can be applied to the management of cancer patients, efforts must be made to integrate translational research into clinical trial design and conduct. This article reports on different ways translational research can contribute to improving the structure and effectiveness of clinical trials, with the main aim to rapidly optimize and individualize the treatment of breast cancer patients. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.SCOPUS: re.j