Breast cancer metastasis test arrives in hospitals: "It's invaluable."

BarcelonaAliki Nikolaou began a journey of tests and treatments since she was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2021. It took months of hormone therapy, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, as well as two operations: one to amputate her breast and another to remove her lymph nodes. She is now continuing hormone therapy, and explains that it has been a path of stress and emotional exhaustion to overcome a disease that affects almost one in eight women worldwide. Of these, 15% end up developing bone metastases. Aliki was able to undergo an experimental test that predicts the risk of cancer spreading and whether the treatment she receives is adequate.

This diagnostic test, developed by the company Inbiomotion, is called the MAF Test and has been making its way into healthcare centers since Thursday. This tool predicts the prognosis of patients with breast cancer and helps oncologists identify those in whom metastasis could be prevented thanks to drugs used to treat osteoporosis. The MAF Test is now available at Hospital del Mar, the Clínic Barcelona Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the International Breast Cancer Center, all in Barcelona. It is also used at HM Hospitales centers in the Community of Madrid.

The studies that have supported the use of this test were published in the journals The Lancet Oncology and Journal of the National Cancer Institute and the company that developed it is Inbiomotion, a spin-off from IRB Barcelona and ICREA. According to these trials, 80% of patients with breast cancer had MAF-negative tumors, and within this group, osteoporosis treatment increased disease-free survival by 14.3% and reduced their relative risk of death by 21.4%. Therefore, the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM) believes the test can increase survival for almost 80% of the 33,000 women with early-stage breast cancer.

After so much suffering, Aliki explains that she felt very calm when she learned that the risk of metastasis was low and that the therapy worked. "It was very important information for me, especially emotionally. Taking a test that has no side effects and can confirm that the treatment you are receiving is the right one is invaluable," she says.

Knowledge at the service of centers

ICREA researcher and co-founder of Inbiomotion, Roger Gomis, emphasizes the "great news" of the adoption of his test in leading hospitals. "This announcement represents a major step forward in increasing diagnostic capabilities and improving clinical outcomes for patients with early-stage breast cancer," he says.

For Aleix Prat, director of the Clínico Barcelona Comprehensive Cancer Center, the MAF Test is an "excellent" example of how biomedical research can generate useful and accessible tools to improve decision-making by professionals, as well as the quality of care received by patients. "Its implementation in hospitals represents a further step towards more effective, safe, and personalized medicine," concludes the expert, director of the Chair of Innovation in Precision Oncology at the University of Barcelona.

Experts welcome the arrival of the test because it will allow them to identify "more easily" those patients at high risk of metastasis and individualize treatment to improve their survival. This is the case of Sonia Servitja, oncologist and head of the breast cancer section at Hospital del Mar, who also highlights the Catalan identity of this innovative tool: "It's very exciting to see how pioneering research developed in Barcelona translates into concrete improvements for our patients." In addition to Catalan hospitals, the test is also already being marketed at centers in Portugal, Italy, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.