Breast cancer patients can soon be thrown a lifeline thanks to a ‘next generation’ medicine that can destroy tumors for months before they even grow.
The daily pill, known as Camizestrant, prevents cancer cells from developing, dramatically delaying the spread of the disease and the need for debilitating chemotherapy.
About seven in ten breast cancer patients in the UK have a kind of the disease known as HR-positive HER-2-negative breast cancer-the most common form.
About 40 percent of this, a total of around 10-15,000 British women every year, can develop an aggressive genetic mutation that prevents the treatment from killing the cancer.
But the ‘transformational’ study found that patients, in view of the medicine that Camizestrant saw that their risk of the progressed cancer reduced by more than half.
It was also the first worldwide study that demonstrated that blood tests can pick up early warning signals that the cancer will probably return.
Doctors used the test to recognize changes in the DNA of the cancer – WWhen they found signs of the harmful mutation, patients received Camizestrant.
Currently, these monitoring blood tests are only performed after the treatment is given and are looking for signs of DNA in cancer in the blood, indicating that the disease is spreading.
The daily pill, known as Camizestrant, disrupts cancer cells to develop further, to delay the spread of the disease and postpone the need for debilitating chemotherapy
Symptoms of breast cancer to pay attention are nodules and swellings, hole of the skin, changes in color, discharge and a rash or crust around the nipple
Experts who today present the findings on the American Society for Clinical Oncology Conference (ASCO) in Chicago, greeted it a ‘crucial moment in breast cancer care’ and ‘really fundamental shift in how we approach cancer’.
The drug is already accelerated for use in the US and has been sent to the UK for approval.
Professor Nicholas Turner, an expert in molecular oncology at the Institute of Cancer Research, London and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, who led the most important testsaid: ‘This is a crucial moment in the care of breast cancer.
“This is a potential new strategy for treating the development of medicines before it causes the cancer to progress.”
In the study, 3,325 patients with HR-positive, HER-2 negative advanced breast cancer from 23 countries were screened for the aggressive mutation-known as ESR1-with the help of a blood test every eight to 12 weeks.
Of these, 315 women who tested positively on the mutation were split into two groups. One group received a combination of Camizestrant and another medicine that is known for attacking this type of cancer.
The other group received both traditional medicine and hormone therapy.
Researchers discovered that those on the Camizestrant combination reduced their risk of death or the cancer reduced by 56 percent.
The drug also held the cancer on average 16 months remotely compared to 9.2 months in standard treatment.
Susan Galbraith, Executive Vice President of Oncology of AstraZeneca, presented the findings at ASCO, said that the medicine had now received ‘breakthrough therapy’ through the Food and Drugs Administration in the US, so that Regulatory Review helps accelerate
Checking your breasts must be part of your monthly routine, so that you notice unusual changes. Just rub and feel from top to bottom, in semi -circles and in a circular movement around your breast tissue to identify any abnormalities
Only one percent of patients stopped taking the drug about side effects.
Susan Galbraith, executive vice-president of Oncology in AstraZeneca, the company behind the drug, that the company has ‘continuous discussions’ with British drug heads, presents the findings at Asco, Executive Vice President of Astrazeneca.
In the meantime, Dr. Catherine Elliott, director of research at Cancer Research UK,: ‘This study is a clear example of how blood tests start transforming cancer treatment.
‘By following small traces of Tumor -DNA in the blood, researchers were able to recognize early signs of treatment resistance and change therapies before cancer had the chance to grow.
“This approach can become an important part of how we personalize care for people with advanced breast cancer.”
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