Research Group on Breast Cancer Biology
Oncology Area
Resistance to treatments:
- Evaluation of the recent insights into the development of preclinical trastuzumab-resistant HER2+ breast cancer models.
Metastatic setting:
- Multicenter phase II study of lurbinectedin in BRCA-mutated and unselected metastatic advanced breast cancer and biomarker assessment substudy.
- Analysis of postmastectomy radiation therapy in women with T1-T2 tumors and 1 to 3 positive lymph nodes.
ER+ breast cancer:
- Evaluation of the outcomes of single versus double hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.
- Description that the ER+ breast cancers resistant to prolonged neoadjuvant letrozole exhibit an E2F4 transcriptional program sensitive to CDK4/6 inhibitors.
- Design of adjuvant endocrine therapy for premenopausal breast cancer.
Breast cancer in very young women:
- Identification of miR124-2 as a survival biomarker by methylation deregulation of its promoters.
- Review of breast cancer in pregnant patients.
Prognostic and prediction:
- Prognostic role for the derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in early breast cancer.
- Evaluation of the pathologic complete response rate to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in triple negative breast cancer subtypes.
- Study of the incidence, characteristics, and prevention of the alopecia following adjuvant docetaxel.

Coordinator

Coordinator
RESEARCHERS
Established, R3
Octavio Burgues GasiónIsabel Chirivella González
Recognised/Emerging, R2
Begoña Bermejo De Las HerasDiego Soriano MenaElvira Buch VillaIris Garrido CanoJuan Miguel Cejalvo AndújarLidia González VillenaMª Teresa Martínez Martínez
First Stage, R1
Cristina Hernando MeliáAna María Ágreda RocaAna Caterina Trigo Lameirinhas Sandra Torres Ruiz
STAFF
Collaborating Researchers
Esther Jordá Sorolla
Nurse
Cristina Tébar SánchezSara Rodríguez PestanoSilvia Coret Sinisterra
Technicians
Elisa Alonso YusteJulia Soler Flores
Administrative assistant
Yolanda De La Cruz Robles
Publications
Author Correction: Clinical, pathological, and PAM50 gene expression features of HER2-low breast cancer. Schettini F, Chic N, Brasó-Maristany F, Paré L, Pascual T, Conte B, Martínez-Sáez O, Adamo B, Vidal M, Barnadas E, Fernández-Martinez A, González-Farre B, Sanfeliu E, Cejalvo JM, Perrone G, Sabarese G, Zalfa F, Peg V, Fasani R, Villagrasa P, Gavilá J, Barrios CH, Lluch A, Martín M, Locci M, De Placido S, Prat A. NPJ Breast Cancer. 2023 Apr 29;9(1):32. doi: 10.1038/s41523-023-00538-x. Erratum for: NPJ Breast Cancer. 2021 Jan 4;7(1):1. PMID: 37120452
CCNE1 and PLK1 mediates resistance to palbociclib in HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer. Guerrero-Zotano Á, Belli S, Zielinski C, Gil-Gil M, Fernandez-Serra A, Ruiz-Borrego M, Ciruelos Gil EM, Pascual J, Muñoz-Mateu M, Bermejo B, Margeli Vila M, Antón A, Murillo L, Nisenbaum B, Liu Y, Herranz J, Fernandez Garcia D, Caballero R, López-Guerrero JA, Bianco R, Formisano L, Turner N, Martín M. Clinical Cancer Research. 2023 Apr 14;29(8):1557-1568. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-22-2206. PMID: 36749874.
Distinct GSDMB protein isoforms and protease cleavage processes differentially control pyroptotic cell death and mitochondrial damage in cancer cells. Oltra S, Colomo S, Sin L, Perez-Lopez M, Lazaro S, Molina-Crespo A, Choi K, Ros-Pardo D, Martinez L, Morales S, Gonzalez-Paramos C, Orantes A, Soriano M, Hernandez A, Lluch A, Rojo F, Albanell J, Gomez-Puertas P, Ko J, Sarrio D, Moreno-Bueno G. Cell Death and Differentiation. 2023 May;30(5):1366-1381. doi: 10.1038/s41418-023-01143-y. PMID: 36899106
Dual neoadjuvant blockade plus chemotherapy versus monotherapy for the treatment of women with non-metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Vazquez J, Antolin S, Ruiz-Borrego M, Servitja S, Alba E, Barnadas A, Lluch A, Martin M, Rodriguez-Lescure A, Sola I, Bonfill X, Urrutia G, Sanchez-Rovira P. Clinical & Translational Oncology. 2022 Nov 22. doi: 10.1007/s12094-022-02998-2. PMID: 36417083
CIP2A as a key regulator for AKT phosphorylation has partial impact determining clinical outcome in breast cancer. Luque M, Cristobal I, Sanz-Alvarez M, Santos A, Zazo S, Eroles P, Arpi O, Rovira A, Albanell J, Madoz-Gurpide J, Garcia-Foncillas J, Rojo F. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2022 Mar 14;11(6):1610. doi: 10.3390/jcm11061610. PMID: 35329936
Clinical and sociodemographic determinants of adherence to World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) recommendations in breast cancer survivors-health-EpiGEICAM Study. Lope V, Guerrero-Zotano A, Ruiz-Moreno E, Bermejo B, Antolin S, Montano A, Baena-Canada JM, Ramos Vazquez M, Fernandez de Larrea-Baz N, Chacon JI, Garcia-Saenz JA, Olier C, Munoz M, Anton A, Sanchez Rovira P, Arcusa Lanza A, Gonzalez S, Oltra A, Brunet J, Gavila Gregori J, Martinez MT, Calvo L, Rosell L, Bezares S, Pastor-Barriuso R, Perez-Gomez B, Martin M, Pollan M. Cancers. 2022 Sep 27;14(19):4705. doi: 10.3390/cancers14194705. PMID: 36230628
Clinical factors associated with long-term benefit in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with axitinib: real-world AXILONG Study. Pinto A, Reig O, Iglesias C, Gallardo E, Garcia-Del Muro X, Alonso T, Anguera G, Suarez C, Munoz-Langa J, Villalobos-Leon L, Rodriguez-Sanchez A, Lainez N, Martinez-Ortega E, Campayo M, Velastegui A, Rodriguez-Vida A, Villa-Guzman J, Mendez-Vidal M, Rubio G, Garcia I, Capdevila L, Lambea J, Vazquez S, Fernandez O, Hernando-Polo S, Cerezo S, Santander C, Garcia-Marrero R, Zambrana F, Gonzalez-Del Alba A, Lazaro-Quintela M, Castellano D, Chirivella I, Anido U, Viana A, Garcia A, Sotelo M, Arevalo M, Garcia-Donas J, Hernandez C, Bolos M, Llinares J, Climent M. Clinical Genitourinary Cancer. 2022 Feb;20(1):25-34. doi: 10.1016/j.clgc.2021.09.006. PMID: 34789409
Derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio predicts pathological complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer. Ocana A, Chacon J, Calvo L, Anton A, Mansutti M, Albanell J, Martinez M, Lahuerta A, Bisagni G, Bermejo B, Semiglazov V, Thill M, Chan A, Morales S, Herranz J, Tusquets I, Chiesa M, Caballero R, Valagussa P, Bianchini G, Alba E, Gianni L. Frontiers in Oncology. 2022 Feb 11;11:827625. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2021.827625. PMID: 35223459
Adjuvant olaparib for patients with BRCA1- or BRCA2-mutated breast cancer. Tutt A, Garber J, Kaufman B, Viale G, Fumagalli D, Rastogi P, Gelber R, de Azambuja E, Fielding A, Balmana J, Domchek S, Gelmon K, Hollingsworth S, Korde L, Linderholm B, Bandos H, Senkus E, Suga J, Shao Z, Pippas A, Nowecki Z, Huzarski T, Ganz P, Lucas P, Baker N, Loibl S, McConnell R, Piccart M, Schmutzler R, Steger G, Costantino J, Arahmani A, Wolmark N, McFadden E, Karantza V, Lakhani S, Yothers G, Campbell C, Geyer C, OlympiA Clinical Trial Steering. New England Journal of Medicine. 2021 Jun 24;384(25):2394-2405. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2105215. PMID: 34081848
Anomalous right coronary artery from the left sinus with interarterial course. Marcos Garcés V, Lorenzo Hernández M, Martínez Más M, Parrilla Muñoz C, Pernias Escrig V, Bodí Peris V. Coronary Artery Disease. 2021 Aug 1;32(5):475-477. doi: 10.1097/MCA.0000000000000941. PMID: 32804784
Chemotherapy de-escalation using an F-18-FDG-PET-based pathological response-adapted strategy in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer (PHERGain): a multicentre, randomised, open-label, non-comparative, phase 2 trial. Manuel Perez-Garcia J, Gebhart G, Ruiz Borrego M, Stradella A, Bermejo B, Schmid P, Marme F, Escriva-de-Romani S, Calvo L, Ribelles N, Martinez N, Albacar C, Prat A, Dalenc F, Kerrou K, Colleoni M, Afonso N, Di Cosimo S, Sampayo-Cordero M, Malfettone A, Cortes J, Llombart-Cussac A. Lancet Oncology. 2021 Jun;22(6):858-871. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(21)00122-4. PMID: 34019819
Circadian PERformance in breast cancer: a germline and somatic genetic study of PER3VNTR polymorphisms and gene co-expression. Fores-Martos J, Cervera-Vidal R, Sierra-Roca J, Lozano-Asencio C, Fedele V, Cornelissen S, Edvarsen H, Tadeo-Cervera I, Eroles P, Lluch A, Tabares-Seisdedos R, Falco A, Van’t Veer LJ, Schmidt M, Quigley DA, Borresen-Dale AL, Kristensen VN, Balmain A, Climent J. NPJ Breast Cancer. 2021 Sep 10;7(1):118. doi: 10.1038/s41523-021-00329-2. PMID: 34508103
A Phase II prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and multicenter clinical trial to assess the safety of 0.005% estriol vaginal gel in hormone receptor-positive postmenopausal women with early stage breast cancer in treatment with aromatase inhibitor in the adjuvant setting. Sanchez Rovira P, Linden Hirschberg A, Gil Gil M, Bermejo De Las Heras B, Nieto Magro C. Oncologist. 2020 Dec;25(12):e1846-1854. doi: 10.1634/theoncologist.2020-0417. PMID: 32459035
A retrospective, multicenter study of the efficacy of lapatinib plus trastuzumab in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients previously treated with trastuzumab, lapatinib, or both: the Trastyvere study. Gavila J, De La Haba J, Bermejo De Las Heras B, Rodriguez-Lescure A, Anton A, Ciruelos E, Brunet J, Munoz-Couselo E, Santisteban M, Rodriguez Sanchez C, Santaballa A, Sanchez Rovira P, Garcia Saenz J, Ruiz-Borrego M, Guerrero-Zotano A, Huerta Alvaro M, Cotes-Sanchis A, Lao Romera J, Aguirre E, Cortes J, Llombart-Cussac A. Clinical & Translational Oncology. 2020 Mar;22(3):420-428. doi: 10.1007/s12094-019-02145-4. PMID: 31203575
Association Between ABCB1 Genetic Variants and Persistent Chemotherapy-Induced Alopecia in Women With Breast Cancer. Nunez-Torres R, Martin M, Garcia-Saenz J, Rodrigo-Faus M, Del Monte-Millan M, Tejera-Perez H, Pita G, de la Torre-Montero J, Pinilla K, Herraez B, Peiró Chová L, Bermejo De Las Heras B, Lluch Hernández A, Gonzalez-Neira A. JAMA Dermatology. 2020 Sep 1;156(9):987-991. doi: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2020.1867. PMID: 32756886
Aurora kinases in ovarian cancer. Perez Fidalgo J, Gambardella V, Pineda Merlo B, Burgues Gasion O, Piñero Sanchez O, Cervantes Ruiperez A. ESMO Open. 2020 Oct;5(5):e000718. doi: 10.1136/esmoopen-2020-000718. PMID: 33087400
Projects
Title: Predicción de enfermedad residual después de la terapia neoadyuvante en cáncer de mama HER2 positivo e identificación de estrategias para superar la resistencia
Funding body: Instituto de Salud Carlos III – Cofinanciado FEDER
Principal Investigator: Pilar Eroles Asensio
Duration: 2022 – 2024
Total budget: 123.420 €
Title: REsearch on BrEast Cancer induced chronic conditions supported by Causal Analysis of multi-source data
Funding body: European Commission
Principal Investigator: Aristotelio Panepistimio Thessalonikis
Duration: 2021 – 2025
Total budget: 466.125,00 €
Title: Caracterización molecular del cáncer de mama gestacional
Funding body: Instituto de Salud Carlos III – Cofinanciado FEDER
Principal Investigator: Juan de la Haba Rodríguez
Duration: 2019 – 2021
Total budget: 146.159,53
Title: Caracterización y repercusión terapéutica de la ecología de cáncer de mama HER2 positivo
Funding body: Instituto de Salud Carlos III – Cofinanciado FEDER
Principal Investigator: Pilar Eroles Asensio
Duration: 2019 – 2021
Total budget: 112.530 €
Title: CIBER Cáncer de mama
Funding body: Instituto de Salud Carlos III – Cofinanciado FEDER
Principal Investigator: Ana Lluch Hernández, Emilio Alba Conejo
Duration: 2017 – 2021
Total budget:
Title: European Platform for Outcomes Research into Perioperative Interventions during Surgery for Cancer
Funding body: European Commission
Principal Investigator: Pilar Eroles Asensio
Duration: 2016 – 2020
Total budget:
+ Info
SEOM clinical guideline for treatment of kidney cancer (2017) (vol 20, pg 47, 2018). Gallardo E, Méndez-Vidal MJ, Pérez-Gracia JL, Sepúlveda-Sánchez JM, Campayo M, Chirivella-González I, García-Del-Muro X, González-Del-Alba A, Grande E, Suárez C. Clinical & Translational Oncology. 2019 May;21(5):692-693. doi: 10.1007/s12094-019-02058-2. PMID: 30798511
SEOM clinical guideline on heritable TP53-related cancer syndrome (2022). Sanchez-Heras A, Cajal T, Pineda M, Aguirre E, Grana B, Chirivella I, Balmana J, Brunet J. Clinical & Translational Oncology. 2023 May 3. doi: 10.1007/s12094-023-03202-9. PMID: 37133731
Doctoral candidate: Adam Artigues, Anna
Director(s): Lluch Hernández, Ana; Eroles Asensio, Pilar
Date of the defense: 12/04/2022
University: Universitat de València
Title: Role of miR-99a-5p in breast cancer: translating molecular findings into clinical tool
Doctoral candidate: Garrido Cano, Iris
Director(s): Eroles Asensio, Pilar; Martínez Máñez, Ramón
Date of the defense: 17/12/2021
University: Universitat Politècnica de València
Title: Involvement of EZH2-MYC loop and SALL4 in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and trastuzumab resistance process in HER2+ breast cancer
Doctoral candidate: Pattanayak Pattanayak, Chaudhuri Birlipta
Director(s): Eroles Asensio, Pilar; Cejalvo Andújar, Juan Miguel
Date of the defense: 26/02/2021
University: Universitat de València
Title: Estudio de las alteraciones genéticas asociadas con la resistencia al tratamiento neoadyuvante de deprivación estrogénica en cáncer de mama
Doctoral candidate: Guerrero Zotano, Ángel Luis
Director(s): López Guerrero, José Antonio; Guillem Porta, Vicente; Lluch Hernández, Ana
Date of the defense: 21/01/2021
University: Universitat de València
Title: Implicaciones del MAMMI-PET en el diagnóstico y tratamiento del cáncer de mama. Comparación con los resultados anatomopatológicos y con otras pruebas de imagen
Doctoral candidate: De Andrés Gómez, Alejandra
Director(s): Fuster Diana, Carlos Alberto; Villalba Ferrer, Francisco Leopoldo; Lluch Hernández, Ana
Date of the defense: 16/10/2020
University: Universitat de València
Title: Epigenetic regulation of resistance to treatments in triple negative and HER2+ breast cancer: mirnas involved
Doctoral candidate: Cabello Navarro, Paula
Director(s): Erolés Asensio, Pilar; Lluch Hernández, Ana
Date of the defense: 28/09/2020
University: Universitat Politècnica de València
Title: Uncovering the molecular and cellular mechanisms of metastatic dormancy in luminal breast cancer
Doctoral candidate: Cejalvo Andújar, Juan Miguel
Director(s): Gomis Cabré, Roger; Prat Aparicio, Aleix; Palacín Prieto, Manuel
Date of the defense: 22/01/2020
University: University de Barcelona
Title: Evaluación de los cambios en la respuesta linfocitaria en el microambiente tumoral como factor pronóstico y predictivo de respuesta a la quimioterapia neoadyuvante del cáncer de mama triple negativo estadio ii-iii
Doctoral candidate: Herrero Vicent, Carmen
Director(s): Ruiz Simón, Amparo; Calatrava Fons, Ana; Guillem Porta, Vicente; Lluch Hernández, Ana
Date of the defense: 27/05/2019
University: Universitat de València
Title: Identificación de biomarcadores circulantes con valor pronóstico y predictivo de respuesta en cáncer de mama triple negativo
Doctoral candidate: Salvador Coloma, Carmen
Director(s): Lluch Hernández, Ana; Santaballa Bertrán, Ana María; Font de Mora Sainz, Jaime
Date of the defense: 10/05/2019
University: Universitat de València
Title: Identificación de los factores clínico-patológicos relacionados con la obtención de la respuesta completa patológica en pacientes con cáncer de mama tratadas con quimioterapia neoadyuvante. Validación del residual cancer burden (rcb) como factor pronóstico
Doctoral candidate: Pons Sanz, Vanesa
Director(s): Lluch Hernández, Ana; Pérez Fidalgo, Jose Alejandro; Burgués Gasión, Octavio
Date of the defense: 02/04/2019
University: Universitat de València
Title: Study of the epi-/genomic dysregulation of breast cancer in women under 35 years and evaluation of cellular models
Doctoral candidate: Oltra Sanchis, Sara
Director(s): Ribas Despuig, Gloria; Lluch Hernández, Ana
Date of the defense: 18/01/2019
University: Universitat de València