Alexandra Thomas
Duke University, NC·Medicine & Clinical Research
Many premenopausal women with hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer, a cancer whose growth is fueled by estrogen, now receive treatment that suddenly induces menopause and blocks estrogen almost entirely. This near-complete estrogen deprivation (NCED) improves survival without recurrence, but it may harm the heart.
- Fields
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
breast cancer
HR-positive
estrogen deprivation
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Apr 2027
What they work on
- Characterize and quantify small-vessel (microvascular) injury and changes in heart blood flow during early near-complete estrogen deprivation, using serial cardiac MRI stress studies over two years.
- Measure structural and functional changes in the aorta and the left ventricle, the heart's main pumping chamber, in premenopausal breast cancer patients on estrogen-deprivation therapy, using quantitative cardiac MRI.
- Identify blood biomarkers, electrocardiogram changes and patient risk factors that predict which women on near-complete estrogen deprivation are most likely to show heart decline.
More about the research
Women who lose estrogen early for non-cancer reasons have more atherosclerosis (artery plaque buildup) and coronary artery disease, and such heart damage is not reversible once it becomes clinical. Tens of thousands of women start this therapy each year, so detecting heart decline early matters.
Why it matters
Premenopausal women with HR-positive breast cancer could benefit if heart damage from estrogen-blocking therapy can be spotted early. Predictive tools built from imaging, blood markers and ECG findings may help doctors find at-risk patients and protect their hearts. This could let women stay on effective cancer treatment while lowering heart-related side effects that could otherwise offset survival gains.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
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The school
Duke University: 61 labs on PI Pages, $1.6B a year on research, 417 research doctorates a year.
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