The first large U.S. study aimed at resolving an ongoing debate about the best way to treat an early sign of breast cancer will launch later this year under the direction of a Duke Cancer Institute investigator.
The study, entitled COMET (Comparison of Operative to Medical Endocrine Therapy) for low-risk ductal carcinoma in situ, received funding through a $13.4 million, five-year award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), an independent, nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 2010 to support research that enlightens health care decisions.
Principal investigator E. Shelley Hwang, M.D., chief of breast surgery at the Duke Cancer Institute and vice chair of research in the Duke University Department of Surgery, will lead the study through the cooperative group, The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology.