Breast cancer drug hope

Trials suggest treatment looms as game-changer

THERE is new hope for breast cancer patients who carry socalled Angelina Jolie genes, with a new treatment reducing their risk of death by almost a third.

Drug treatment Lynparza is already subsidised in Australia to treat ovarian cancer. Now it has been shown to extend the lives of women with breast cancer.

The drug is formulated for use in women who carry BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, which increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

The genes were made famous by actor Jolie, who carried the BRCA1 gene and had a double mastectomy to reduce her risk of cancer.

Peter MacCallum oncologist Kelly Phillips managed 60 Australian patients involved in the latest clinical trial that involved more than 1800 women worldwide.

The treatment exploited an underlying abnormality in the cancers of women with the genes, Professor Phillips said.

“Approximately 5 per cent of patients diagnosed with breast cancer have an underlying inherited BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation,” she said.

“This equates to roughly 1000 women in Australia each year diagnosed with breast cancer. Typically, these women are diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age and may have a more aggressive form of the disease.”

New trial results to be released at an international cancer conference this week show women treated with the drug have their chance of dying from the cancer slashed by 32 per cent.

Earlier research found it reduced the risk of cancer recurrences, secondary cancers and death by 42 per cent.

The trials were in women with early stage breast cancer that had not spread.

The drug comes in tablet form and is taken twice a day for 12 months and to date the trial has followed women for 3½ years after treatment started.

It is used after women have first received standard treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and hormone therapy, where appropriate. The expensive treatment was approved for use in breast cancer by the US Food and Drug Administration at the weekend but it is not yet subsidised for breast cancer treatment in Australia.