NEW BREAST CANCER DRUG TO HELP MORE PATIENTS
A new class of drug, designed to treat less common cases of breast cancer, could benefit up to one in five women with the disease, a study suggests.The drugs, known as PARP inhibitors, treat women with breast cancer related to inherited mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes – a type of cancer that became well known when Angelina Jolie shared her experience with it.
Published in the journal Nature Medicine, the study involved researchers from more than 30 medical institutions.They took DNA from breast cancer tumours removed from 560 people and did whole genome sequencing. From there they developed a computer programme to recognise genetic “signatures” linked to the mutations. These results were then compared to those from people with non-inherited breast cancer.