Rita Nanda, MD
The University of Chicago Medicine
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago, Illinois
Titles and Affiliations
Associate Professor of Medicine
Director, Breast Oncology Program
Research area
Targeting alternative steroid receptors in triple-negative breast cancer.
Impact
Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) refers to a diverse group of breast cancers that lack the typical hormone receptors found in most breast cancers, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor, as well as the HER2 protein—and are thus not candidates for endocrine or anti-HER2 therapies. The standard of care for TNBC remains chemotherapy-based treatment. In search of other therapeutic targets, studies found that 12 to 50 percent of TNBC harbor the androgen receptor (AR) or signs of AR activation. When AR-positive TNBCs recur, they are likely to also have high levels of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), which may work with AR to drive tumor growth. With this information, Drs. Rita Nanda, Tiffany Traina, and their teams designed a clinical trial to test the use of AR and GR-targeting drugs on patient with AR-positive, metastatic TNBC.
What’s next
The study, which will ultimately enroll 201 patients, is anticipated to open in late 2021. It will assess the ability of the AR-targeting enzalutamide, or enzalutamide in combination with GR-targeting mifepristone, to extend progression free survival when compared with chemotherapy.
Biography
Rita Nanda, MD, is an associate professor of medicine and director of the breast medical oncology program at The University of Chicago. Her research interests include identifying new treatments for breast cancer, with a focus on triple-negative disease. She leads the University of Chicago’s clinical and translational breast cancer research efforts and serves as a principal investigator for the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium (TBCRC) and the ISPY2 Clinical Trial Network.
She is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Association of Cancer Research, and the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer. Dr. Nanda has authored many scientific publications and book chapters, including one of the first reports of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy for triple-negative breast cancer. She presents her research often at national and international conferences. She has earned several awards, including the 2014 NCI Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award.
