To test new treatments for aggressive breast cancer, a rare alliance between the US government and five major drug companies, researchers launched a clinical study Wednesday.
The new drugs may help boost survival rates for women diagnosed with this type of breast cancer which does not respond to the standard treatments, the Biomarkers Consortium said in a statement.
Breast Cancer - Causes, Risks, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Staging, Treatment, Prevention & Prognosis
Breast cancer is a cancer that affects the breasts or mammary glands. Early detection and lifestyle changes help in controlling breast cancer.
Breast cancer is a cancer that affects the breasts or mammary glands. Early detection and lifestyle changes help in controlling breast cancer.
"I-SPY 2 promises to leverage convergence of progress on a number of research fronts to speed the evaluation of promising new breast cancer drugs using molecular cancer biomarkers to identify those agents that are effective in specific sub-populations of breast cancer patients," said Anna Barker, deputy director of the National Cancer Institute.
"This will allow us to finally design advanced, smaller and less expensive Phase III trials that test the right drugs in the right patients," she added.
About Cancer in Women
Cancer is one of the frequently talked about and most feared disease that falls under the genre of lifestyle diseases that have evolved, rather rapidly, in the past two decades.
Cancer is one of the frequently talked about and most feared disease that falls under the genre of lifestyle diseases that have evolved, rather rapidly, in the past two decades.
The consortium, which includes the US Food and Drug Administration as well as nearly 20 cancer research centers across the country, hopes to cut both the costs and time it takes to develop new drugs for the public.
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Breast Self Examination
Slides and animation of Breast Self Examination for early detection of breast cancer lumps in women
Slides and animation of Breast Self Examination for early detection of breast cancer lumps in women
Five new experimental anti-cancer treatments which are being developed by three major pharmaceutical companies will be tested as part of the study, which is expected to cost 26 million dollars over five years.
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Quiz on Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths among women. It is often said that a woman who breast-feeds is at a lower risk of developing cancer compared to another who does not .Are these mere old wives tales or is there some truth in it? This quiz on breast cancer has all the details.
Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths among women. It is often said that a woman who breast-feeds is at a lower risk of developing cancer compared to another who does not .Are these mere old wives tales or is there some truth in it? This quiz on breast cancer has all the details.
"I-SPY 2 will provide a path to personalized medicine," said Laura Esserman, a breast cancer surgeon and researcher at the University of California, San Francisco.
"The collaborative power behind this trial is truly transformational for breast cancer patients and for cancer research as a whole," she added.
"We have set up a system where everyone can learn faster and, together, we can dramatically reduce the amount of time and the cost to bring those drugs to market that can make a difference in whether women live or die."
Among the treatments being studied are drugs developed by Abbott Laboratories, Amgen and Pfizer.
Source-AFP
TRI
