Research article
International web-based consultation on priorities for translational breast cancer research
Breast Cancer Research 2007,
9:R81doi:10.1186/bcr1798
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| Published: | 22 November 2007 |
Abstract (provisional)
Background
Large numbers of translational breast cancer research topics have been completed or are underway but they differ widely in their immediate and/or future importance to clinical management. We therefore conducted an international web-based consultation of breast cancer professionals to identify the topics most widely considered to be of highest priority.
Methods
Potential participants were contacted via 2 large email databases and asked to register the issues that they felt to be of highest priority at a web-site. 409 questions were reduced to 70 unique issues by a steering committee and registrants were asked to select the 6 questions they considered most important.
Results
Votes were recorded from 420 voters (2,520 votes) from 48 countries with 48% of voters coming from North America. Half of the voters rated themselves as clinical, with the remainder being academics, research scientists or pathologists. The highest priority was to identify molecular signatures to select patients that could be spared chemotherapy, which gained about 50% more votes than the second topic and was consistently voted top by voters in each of North America, Europe and Rest of the World. Research scientists voted the determination of the role of stem cells in breast cancer development, progression and treatment sensitivity as the most important issue but this was considered the 6th priority for clinicians and 4th overall.
Conclusions
This exercise may bring a greater focus of research resources onto issues voted as top priorities.
The complete article is available as a provisional PDF. The fully formatted PDF and HTML versions are in production.
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