7,000 of the 10,000 women diagnosed per year
with HER2-positive breast cancer do not respond well to Herceptin, the
standard medicine
A breakthrough by scientists could lead to a new treatment for one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer.
They have pinpointed the molecule which causes cancerous cells to grow and spread very quickly, making them hard to treat.
Now that researchers have found the specific molecule, they are confident they can use an existing drug to stop the cancer in its tracks. The discovery offers hope for women diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer, which tends to spread far more quickly than other types.
It affects 10,000 women a year – a fifth of all cases – and of these around 7,000 do not respond well to the current standard treatment, a medicine called Herceptin.
Researchers from the Bart’s Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London conducted the study. They hope that in future women could have tumour biopsies to check for the presence of the molecule.
If found, they would be offered the existing drug – which is mainly only used in trials – alongside Herceptin.
Early studies on mice have shown that the combination of these two treatments eradicates the tumours.
Around 50,000 women develop breast cancer a year and it causes just under 12,000 deaths.
But although survival rates have improved in recent decades, campaigners are concerned they still lag far behind those of other European countries.
They are particularly worried that there are so few treatments available for those women with the most aggressive forms of breast cancer.
Breast Cancer Campaign funded the study. Its chief executive, Baroness Delyth Morgan, said: ‘Despite great advances in the past 20 years, five-year breast cancer survival in the UK is worse than the European average.
‘Breast cancer is not a done deal and much more must be done to improve survival rates.
'There is a desperate need for drugs which work in new ways to give the thousands of women diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer the best possible chances of surviving the disease.
‘This study could pave the way for new treatments and bring us closer to our goal of preventing half of the deaths from breast cancer by 2025, through improved and personalised treatments.’
Researchers from the Bart's Cancer Institute at
Queen Mary University of London, who conducted the survey, hope in the
future that women could have tumour biopsies to check for the presence
of the molecule (stock pic)
The research, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, looked at tumour samples provided by 2,000 women with breast cancer.
About 40 per cent of them were found to contain this molecule – known as αvβ6.
In further experiments on mice, they used another treatment called 264RAD to target this molecule and found it completely eradicated the tumours.
They will now carry out trials on women to test how well this treatment works alongside Herceptin.
If successful, it is hoped the treatment would be routinely available within the next ten years.
Dr John Marshall, from Queen Mary, who led the study said: ‘High αvβ6 levels could be tested for in routine biopsies to identify which women are at a high risk of metastasis, (cancer spreading), ensuring these women can receive personalised treatment, improving their chances of survival.’
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