New Breast Cancer Treatments May Improve Patients’ Lives
New Breast Cancer Treatments May Improve Patients’ Lives – Research on many promising new treatments was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago recently.
Pfizer’s targeted drug, palbociclib, may help slow down progression of cancer. According to the phase III trial findings presented at the meeting, the drug, when used in combination with an anti-estrogen agent called Fulvestrant, was able to double the time women spent without having their cancer advance. It was able to prevent the disease from progressing for 9 months, compared to 4 months in women who took only Fulvestrant. This can delay the point at which the women may need to start chemotherapy, a treatment option that causes many severe side-effects.
The drug, Palbociclib works by blocking a key protein that fuels the growth of hormone receptor-positive breast tumors. The drug was given accelerated approval by the US Food and Drug Administration earlier this year for treating women with the most common form of advanced breast cancer, known as estrogen receptor positive (ER+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (HER2-).
Another study presented a surgical option to remove extra tissue around the tumor to prevent cancer from returning.
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