Report Suggests Breast Cancer Chemo Drug Ineffective
A report published on the 10th October focused on a commonly-prescribed drug for breast cancer patients, in which it was revealed to be ineffective in many cases. The chemotherapy drug in question, Taxol, is most often administered to women in whom breast cancer has reached Stage II - forming part of a mixture of treatments given simultaneously, and intended to stop the tumour from redeveloping.
However, according to the new study, Taxol may only work on HER2 positive tumours - present in about one fifth of female breast cancer patients.
The report appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. It highlighted how, based on a study of previous trial results, Taxol would seem to have little effect on women with the more usual oestrogen-receptor-positive form of breast cancer. However, it also stressed that this new opinion of Taxol is still at a primitive stage, so urged doctors not to restrict their prescribing of it.
However, should the researchers' opinion be reinforced by future tests, a straightforward molecular assessment could pinpoint, in advance, the breast cancer patients in which Taxol would be an effective treatment. This would avoid the need for the non-Taxol-suitable patients to go through un-required chemotherapy.
According to the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center's Daniel Hayes: "In general, chemotherapy for breast cancer has been a one-size-fits-all approach."
He continued: "Our decision to recommend it is based on whether a woman is at high risk of the breast cancer recurring, without any idea of whether she would benefit from the additional therapy. With this data, we hope we will be able to focus chemotherapy on patients whom it's most likely to help,"
Amongst the possible side effects that Taxol can induce is an increased risk of contracting an infection. Additionally, it can trigger hair loss, or stop its re-growth.
A further association is with damage to the nerves - either temporarily or permanently.
Despite these facts, Mr Hayes stressed that doctors/patients should not discard Taxol yet, pending further trials. "The stakes are too high", he warned.
However, if the results of his research are duplicated in the future, "we can really start tailoring treatments to individual patients", Mr Hayes concluded.
Source - Pharmaceutical International's US Correspondent
Recent related News Items:
Alzheimer's Drugs Proposed for Breast Cancer Patients
Genetic Research May Benefit Breast Cancer Patients
Complimentary Medicine Offers Relief to Breast Cancer Sufferers
Further Resources - Products and Services:
