Breast cancer drug ‘boosts survival rates by 40 per cent’
THOUSANDS of women with breast cancer could benefit from two drugs that stop tumours in their tracks, trials show.
In some cases, treatment was so effective that growths the size of tennis balls were completely eradicated in just three months.
Experts hope NHS rationing bodies will approve the drugs soon – despite their cost – to enable more women to live longer with the disease and possibly be cured.
One British trial unveiled in the US yesterday showed that one new drug, Perjeta, boosted survival rates by 40 per cent compared to standard treatments.
The medication is used for women with a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer known as HER2-positive, which is responsible for 13,000 new cases in the UK each year.
Although the drug is already given to women with advanced breast cancer and can extend lives by an average of 15 months, researchers hope to save many more lives by giving it to women in the early stages of the disease.
The American Society for Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago was told how the drug puts a brake on the signals that keep cells alive. In a trial involving 417 women, tumours disappeared in 30 per cent of cases – avoiding the need for a mastectomy.
In some cases the drug eradicated tumours up to 4 inches (10cm) across – larger than a tennis ball. Study leader Professor David Miles, of the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Hertfordshire described the findings as ‘terrific’.
A second trial presented in Chicago showed how the pill palbociclib halted the growth of tumours in women with advanced breast cancer, giving them precious extra time. The study on 521 women led by doctors at London’s Royal Marsden Hospital found that it kept tumours at bay for an average of five months longer compared to standard treatments.
Crucially, it meant women could wait longer before undergoing chemotherapy and its debilitating side-effects – which in some cases i s so unbearable that patients choose to stop treatment. The research showed that the tumours in women given palbociclib remained stable for an average of 9.3 months, compared to the 3.8 months in those who took a placebo, or dummy pill.
Dr Nicholas Turner, of the Insti- tute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘It could help a lot of women to delay the moment when they start chemotherapy, which is effective but is often a very difficult experience for women and their families to go through.’
Both palbociclib and Perjeta, known as targeted treatments, work by blocking the proteins that help tumours spread. But they are expensive and there are concerns they will be rejected.
Perjeta costs around £9,500 a course, but it has to be given with two other drugs including Herceptin – adding another £25,000 on top. NICE in England has already rejected the drug as a treatment for advanced breast cancer, although patients can get it via the Cancer Drugs Fund – set up to fund treatments not available on the NHS.
Palbociclib meanwhile costs £6,500 for a months’ worth of treatment. Eluned Hughes, of Breast Cancer Campaign and Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: ‘These findings prove just how vital research into new targeted treatments is. It’s an exciting time for breast cancer research – we really are on the tipping point of tackling this disease.’
A quick procedure could spare 3,000 women the ordeal of going back to hospital for additional surgery for breast cancer, research shows. Spending an extra 10 minutes taking a small amount of extra cancerous tissue in initial operations reduces the chances of patients needing further surgery by 50 per cent, Yale experts found.
‘We’re on the tipping point’