A recent study from Lund University in Sweden has identified a biomarker that helps determine which patients with aggressive breast cancer can benefit from the targeted drug ganitumab, which had previously been shelved despite promising pre-clinical results.

The study revealed that low levels of the biomarker IGFBP7 correlate with better treatment responses; nearly 50% of patients with low IGFBP7 levels experienced complete tumor disappearance before surgery.

In contrast, tumors with high IGFBP7 levels did not respond well to ganitumab, indicating that the drug is effective primarily for patients with low levels of this protein.

Helena Jernström, a professor at Lund University, noted that approximately 25% of patients with aggressive breast cancer may benefit from ganitumab, marking a significant breakthrough in identifying effective treatments.

Christopher Godina, a post-doctoral researcher at Lund University, analyzed extensive data from the I-SPY2 clinical trial, focusing on gene expression in tumors and patient outcomes to find common markers for treatment efficacy.

The U.S. researchers made their data from the I-SPY2 trial available, allowing Lund University researchers to explore the results further and enhance their findings.

The study emphasizes the importance of open data in research, as the availability of past trial data enabled new insights into the treatment's effectiveness.

These findings have the potential to revive interest from pharmaceutical companies in continuing the development of ganitumab for breast cancer therapy.

Published in NPJ Precision Oncology, the findings may also have implications for treating other types of cancer beyond breast cancer.

Michael Pollak, a professor at McGill University and co-author of the study, expressed disappointment over the initial inability to identify effective patient cohorts for the drug, but was surprised by the Swedish team's findings.

Ganitumab works by blocking the IGFIR receptor on tumors, which can promote tumor growth and spread when activated, but it was previously unclear which patients would benefit from the treatment.

Despite extensive research and significant investment, ganitumab showed limited success in identifying which breast cancer patients would benefit from the treatment during earlier clinical trials.