Carboplatin, Lung cancer drug may be useful in treating breast tumor

If breast cancer in women has occurred because of two common genetic mutations, it may be possible to seek remedy from a prevalent chemotherapy medication. Carboplatin, which is being used to treat ovarian and lung cancers, is getting known for its success rates in treating breast tumors.

British scientists have conducted a research on mice which has revealed that cancer cells with BRCA2 mutations are twenty times more receptive to carboplatin, and that BRCA1 tumors are between five and twenty times more receptive.

The scientists will be testing this finding on 150 BRCA breast cancer patients, 75 with each mutation, who will be administered carboplatin or docetaxel, to check out which one is more effective. If the clinical trials prove successful, then it will be used to treat breast cancer patients with BRCA mutations within 5 years.

Andrew Tutt, consultant oncologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, who is leading the trial, said: “There is an increasing realisation that breast cancer is not just one disease, but that different types of tumor will respond differently to particular drugs. This genetically tailored chemotherapy treatment acts in a much more focused manner than standard chemotherapy.”