In this episode of the Bench to Bedside podcast, Dr. Roy Jensen, vice chancellor and director of The University of Kansas Cancer Center, talks with Dr. Lauren Nye, medical oncologist and breast cancer prevention specialist, about cancer prevention clinical trials and how they differ from treatment trials by aiming to lower cancer risk or detect cancer earlier in healthy, high-risk individuals. Dr. Nye explains who may qualify based on family history, genetics, prior precancerous biopsies, or lifestyle factors, and highlights prevention successes, such as tamoxifen and the HPV vaccine. They discuss current research exploring well-tolerated, affordable options including GLP-1 receptor agonist, the heightened safety expectations for prevention studies, and why multi-agent approaches can be limited by toxicity. Dr. Nye also shares how she communicates risk—especially absolute versus relative risk—and encourages listeners to ask their doctor about risk assessment, genetic counseling, and high-risk clinics at KU Cancer Center.

00:00 Prevention Trials Intro

01:17 What Prevention Trials Are

02:08 Who Is High Risk

03:03 Why Prevention Matters

03:55 New Prevention Strategies

04:39 Drug Development Challenges

06:19 Patient Concerns and Safety

08:12 Why Not Combine Agents

10:10 Future of Prevention Research

11:53 Talking About Risk

13:24 Relative vs Absolute Risk

15:08 Next Steps and Wrap Up

Links from this Episode:

· Learn about cancer prevention and risk reduction options at KU Cancer Center

· See open cancer prevention clinical trials at KU Cancer Center

· Learn about Dr. Lauren Nye

· Read about breast cancer genetic counseling and testing at KU Cancer Center

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