A first daily pill that slows down the spread of aggressive breast cancer will revolutionize the treatment of thousands of thousands of experts.
A study has shown that the drug, VEPDegestrant, is twice as effective as existing treatments in renewing the lives of patients with incurable breast cancer – who have expensive time with loved ones.
Experts say that VEPDegestrant also has far fewer side effects than medicines used on the NHS and can be taken at home.
One in seven women in the UK is diagnosed with breast cancer during their lives – about 56,000 a year – making it the most common cancer in the UK.
While nine out of ten patients survive, the disease still claims the lives of more than 11,000 annually.
About two-thirds of breast cancer patients in the UK have a form of the disease called er-2 negative breast cancer.
With half of this, with an advanced form you can develop a genetic mutation that makes their cancer resistant to treatment.
Patients who receive this mutation – have applied ESR1 – have typically less than two years to live.
A crucial worldwide study has found a daily pill, called Vepdegestrant, the risk that the cancer will claim by 43 percent compared to standard treatment – an uncomfortable monthly JAB
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
Currently, these patients receive an injection with Fulvestrant once a month, which prevents cancer cells from feeding estrogen cancer cells, the female sex hormone whose research shows that tumors help to grow.
Fulvestrant, which must be allowed by a care provider, has a number of uncomfortable side effects, including hot flashes, nausea and muscle pain.
In some cases it can also damage the liver.
Even then the injection can only keep the disease at a distance for an average of two months, the test showed.
And only one fifth of the Fulvestrant patients goes six months without their cancer spreading.
But the Vepdegestrant study, presented on the American Society for Clinical Oncology Conference in Chicago, it turned out that the tablet stopped the spread of breast cancer on average for five months.
Moreover, almost half of the 300 patients who get VEPDegestrant went for six months without their cancer spreading.
The study showed that the medicine, which also blocks cancer cells to consume estrogen, has no important side effects.
Produced by US Pharmaceutical Giant Pfizer, Vepdegestrant is a selective estrogen receptor frame (SERD). It works by focusing on the estrogen receptor (er), a protein that plays a crucial role in the growth and distribution of er+ breast cancer cells
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
Experts say it is too early to say exactly how many longer fake strant patients live on fulvestrant, but they expect that the difference is significant.
The drug is already accelerated for use in the US and has been sent to the UK for approval.
Experts believe that the Greenlight could get in the UK because it is so much better than the existing options.
“Fulvestrant is incredibly painful and uncomfortable for patients, the majority of whom are forced to come to the clinic,” says Professor Komal Jhaveri, an oncologist at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
“Oral tablets can be taken at home.”
Dr. Jane Meisel, professor of medical oncology at Emory University in Georgia, said: “This medicine will be a very exciting option for patients who can transform treatment.”
Since it can be taken at home, patients do not leave debilitating side effects, “it is definitely the first of its kind,” she added.
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