Cancer Health Alert:New drug postpones breast cancer progression

GREETINGS,

   New drug postpones breast cancer progression

According to the study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, the newly developed drug, known as T-DM1, has delayed the progression of cancer by three months in a late-stage clinical trial of 991 women with metastatic breast cancer.

T-DM1 contains powerful toxins linked to proteins called antibodies. “The antibodies latch onto cancer cells and deliver the toxic payload directly into those cells. Since the toxin is not active until it reaches the tumor, side effects are reduced.”

“We’ve envisioned a world where cancer treatment would kill the cancer and not hurt the patient,” said professor of medicine at the Duke Cancer Institute and lead investigator in the trial Dr. Kimberly L. Blackwell.

Such treatments which benefit from the antibody-drug conjugates have been studied for decades, but the present study is the first to report successful results, Dr Blackwell added.

“I think it really represents the first broad demonstration of the potential of antibody-drug conjugates in cancer treatment,” said the director of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Dr. Louis M. Weiner in his presenting a commentary on the study.

Numerous pharmaceutical companies believe the mechanism of action of the new drug can be adapted for treating various types of cancerous cells.