Is the Cancer Cure Finally Here? New Common Drug Increases Cure Rate

Commonly available and inexpensive chemotherapy medicine, Carboplatin helps improve the cure rate and survival of a very aggressive type of breast cancer, called triple-negative breast cancer, according to a study by Tata Memorial Centre. The study was a randomized controlled trial that enrolled women with stage II-III triple-negative breast cancer from 2010 to 2020. They were divided into two groups, both of which received chemotherapy to downstage the disease before surgery.

Women in the standard treatment group received standard chemotherapy comprising once-per-week paclitaxel for 8 weeks followed by doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide every 3 weeks for 4 cycles.

In the platinum group, women received the same chemotherapy with the addition of injection carboplatin once per week for 8 weeks, given with paclitaxel. Women in both groups underwent surgery after the last cycle of chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy. They were then followed up once every 6 months.

'Carboplatin' Drug Increases Cancer's Cure Rate

Researchers explained the four main findings of this study. First, in the whole study population cure rate (5-year disease-free survival) increased by 6.6% from 64.1% in the standard arm to 70.7% in the platinum arm and the overall survival increased by 7.6% from 66.8% in the standard arm to 74.4 % in the platinum arm, which was statistically significant.

Second, when the results were analyzed by age, the benefit of weekly carboplatin was almost exclusively confined to women younger than 50 years who had a large 12.5% increase in cure rate (5-year DFS 61.7% to 74.2%) and an 11.2% gain in overall survival (5-year overall survival 65.9% to 77.1%).

Third, platinum-based chemotherapy wiped the tumor clean as assessed by pathologists in the operated breast specimen (pathological complete response) in 61% of younger (<=50 years) patients compared with 41% by standard chemotherapy.

Fourth, carboplatin-based chemotherapy was well tolerated without a high rate of toxicity. The results were hailed by oncologists worldwide as immediately practice defining.

Advertisement

Carboplatin will now be routinely offered as part of a pre-operative chemotherapy regimen to women with TNBC which is the most aggressive type of breast cancer. Given that TNBC constitutes about 30% of breast cancer in India and about 45% of breast cancer in women younger than 50 years, the implications of this result are very important.

The results of the TMC Study are presented at the ongoing San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, which is the largest and most important breast cancer conference in the world.

Advertisement

Source-Eurekalert