Breast Cancer Research Explained

Our breast cancer experts aren’t afraid of a challenge

We don’t mind a challenge. That’s why our researchers are tackling the most difficult-to-treat types of breast cancer.

The research physicians and laboratory scientists within our Vera Bradley Foundation Center for Breast Cancer Research are not afraid of a challenge. Their goal is to cure the most aggressive forms of this disease. The road to a cure starts with learning how and why breast cancer develops, how it behaves in women at all life’s stages, and how it uniquely affects women from different racial and ethnic groups.

We seek better outcomes for patients by exploring the genetics that drive tumors, learning what makes tumors more susceptible to treatment, and devising therapies to help defeat breast cancer while avoiding toxic side effects.

#ResearchCuresCancer.

Angie’s story: “Breast cancer isn’t a one-size-fits-all”

Angie Steeno knows how terrifying a diagnosis of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is. She was already a 10-year survivor of a completely unrelated type of cancer when she learned she had TNBC.

Thanks to significant advances in genomics and personalized treatments, patients like Angie know there’s hope for a cure.

NEW! Rapid Access Clinic

At IU Health’s new Rapid Access Clinic, you’ll receive prompt access to the specialized care you need to achieve the best possible outcome.

If you’re told you may have cancer, a certified physician assistant will guide you through an expedited diagnostic process that gets you into treatment faster and back to life more quickly.

Learn More

Breast cancer clinical trials

Tomorrow comes with the promise of even more effective, personalized treatment and brighter days for every family touched by breast cancer. But we can’t do it alone—take a look to see if you or a loved one might qualify for one of our research studies.

PERSEVERE

Finding better treatment options for women with triple negative breast cancer

Telehealth & Memory

Seeking breast cancer survivors with memory and concentration problems after chemotherapy

Unlocking the complexities of health equity

Black women are more likely to have aggressive types of cancers at a younger age—and to die from breast cancer. Black women who survive breast cancer are also more vulnerable to some debilitating side effects.

We’re finding out why—and we’re determined to change those outcomes. We need your help.

We're leading two national clinical trials that we believe will significantly improve treatments and reduce side effects for Black women:

Don’t miss our Simon Says Expert Series webinar on Breast Cancer and Black Women: Research to Reduce Disparities. Lisa R. Hayes, JD, CCHW, breast cancer survivor and advocate, talks with researchers about using laboratory work, clinical research, and the unique resource of healthy breast tissue to reach closer to health equity in breast cancer.

Curious about clinical trials?

Dr. Kathy Miller has been treating breast cancer patients for more than 20 years—and she’s one of the world’s leading experts on breast cancer clinical trials.

Learn how she advises patients about the risks and benefits of participating in a research study.

Questions and answers about clinical trials with Dr. Miller

There is an incredible excitement, as a researcher, to be the first one to see promising results, and to design a clinical experiment to test them. That part of this job never gets old for me.
Kathy Miller, MD — Breast cancer physician-scientist

Looking for a way to support a loved one with cancer?

Your contributions make a direct and lasting impact on breast cancer research—and we have the success stories to prove it.

The Komen Tissue Bank

In 2007, breast cancer patient and advocate Connie Rufenbarger and her oncologist, Dr. Anna Maria Storniolo, established the world's only bank of normal breast tissue, blood, and data to better understand the genetics of breast cancer.

Today, the Komen Tissue Bank is still the only known biorepository that collects, stores, and annotates healthy breast tissue taken from volunteer women donors who exhibit no signs of breast cancer. Dr. Storniolo’s work has been instrumental in numerous groundbreaking advances in cancer treatment. With your participation, researchers around the world can continue their lifesaving work.

To get started, read about the easy tissue donation process, then register for the next community donation event or add your name to the list of interested donors.

*“I tell people, 'We really are close to fixing this.' I really believe it and they have to believe it. Every day is a gift."*

100 Voices of Hope

A few years ago, Elizabeth Yeh, PhD, had a hunch about how to block cancer cells from metastasizing. She shared a few details about her idea, backed up by her lab’s previous discoveries, to a volunteer group called 100 Voices of Hope that directly funds promising breast cancer research.

Dr. Yeh titled her submission “Searching for a HUNK inhibitor” (no, not that kind of hunk). With the funding provided by 100 Voices of Hope, she’s continuing her work screening FDA-approved drugs that could block the molecule called HUNK (Hormonal Up-regulated Neu-associated Kinase) that’s critical for breast cancers to metastasize.

You can add your voice to the future of breast cancer research at IU by joining the inspirational team at 100 Voices of Hope. Your support could lead to the next big breakthrough.

*"As we research we think about the patients fighting this disease every single day. Because of them, our work has purpose."*

Where does all this breast cancer research happen?

The full name of the facility is the Vera Bradley Foundation Center for Breast Cancer Research at IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. (Yes, that Vera Bradley).

Inside the 5,000+ square feet of lab space, you’ll find more than 35 investigators with expertise in everything from epigenetics and data science to cancer prevention and survivorship.

Visit the Vera Bradley Center website for even more inspiring examples of the groundbreaking work we’re doing to cure even the toughest tumors.

Simon Says Expert Series

Our monthly video series brings together cancer center researchers and physicians, patient advocates, and others to talk about various cancer-related topics.

We’ve covered “chemobrain,” fear of cancer recurrence, health disparities, exercise and physical therapy, the emerging field of supportive oncology, and more.

Every new discovery starts with your gift

Philanthropy is essential to IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center’s efforts to find solutions that save lives. Your gifts facilitate research that sets worldwide standards for care, improving outcomes for patients in Indiana and far beyond.

To learn more about how you can support cancer research, review our giving options or contact our development team today.

#ResearchCuresCancer

Support Our Research

Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon
Comprehensive Cancer Center

Breast Cancer Research Explained

Our breast cancer experts aren’t afraid of a challenge