Dr. Suzette Delaloge Receives the Grand Prix de la Recherche Ruban Rose

A medical oncologist at Gustave Roussy and director of the personalised prevention program Interception, Dr. Suzette Delaloge has been honoured by the Ruban Rose Association for her research aimed at developing a saliva test capable of detecting early signs of breast cancer.

Dr. Suzette Delaloge, an international expert in breast cancer and personalised prevention, received the Grand Prix de la Recherche Ruban Rose on Thursday, January 16, at the French National Assembly.

This prestigious award, endowed with €350,000, supports an innovative research project she is leading. It aims to identify early warning signals, detectable at least three years before the onset of the disease, which could predict the occurrence of breast cancer.

"We will analyse the saliva of 200 women who have developed breast cancer as part of our large international study, MyPeBS, and compare it to the saliva of 200 women with the same initial characteristics but who did not develop the disease," explains Dr. Delaloge. "The goal is to identify a profile of genetic modifications in salivary DNA (including methylation) associated with the development of breast cancer in the following years," she adds.

Saliva tests have the advantage of being non-invasive and cost-effective. Ultimately, this research program aims to develop a saliva-based prevention test focused on breast cancer, which could be implemented across France.

"Like many oncologists, my motivation is intrinsic," says Dr. Delaloge. "What drives us, what fuels these programs, what continuously pushes us to go further is the desire to prevent cancer from occurring, to ensure it is diagnosed earlier, and if cancer does develop, to improve treatments and increase the chances of recovery," she continues.

This project is part of the Interception program, conceived by Dr. Delaloge and launched in 2021. Interception is based on a comprehensive approach to personalised prevention. It has already been applied to several pathways tailored to specific cancer types or risk factors. In 2024, the first Interception pathways were introduced in several partner centres across France, with more set to open in mainland France and overseas territories in 2025.