Breast cancer has been found to be one of the most common types of cancer in the world. In 2016, an estimated 246,660 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 61,000 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer. The treatment option for this type of cancer is usually chemotherapy or mastectomy (removal of breast). However, a new medical discovery may change that.
A team of doctors from the Institute of Cancer Research in London came across a remarkable discovery while analyzing the effects of two drugs which are used on breast cancer tumor before a surgery. The team found that the drugs not only shrink the tumor, it also completely destroys it in about 11 percent of the patients.
According to Medical Daily, though the analysis has not been completed yet, the remarkable result could mean that some patients may not need the undergo chemotherapy anymore.
"We were particularly surprised by these findings as this was a short-term trial," one of the lead researchers, Judith Bliss from the Institute of Cancer Research in London, told the BBC. "It became apparent some had a complete response. It's absolutely intriguing, it is so fast."
For experiment, the scientists included 257 women who had been diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer with sizes between 1 and 3 cm. Among those, 66 received the combination drugs, lapatinib and trastuzuma (Herceptin) known to target HER2. The scientists noticed that in less than 2 weeks, 11 percent of the 66 women saw their tumors disappear and 17 percent had tumors smaller than 5mm in size, sciencealert.com reported.
"We hope this particularly impressive combination trial will serve as a stepping stone to an era of more personalized treatment for HER2 positive breast cancer," said Delyth Morgan, chief executive at Breast Cancer Care. "Such a rapid response to treatment could soon give doctors the unprecedented ability to identify women responding so well that they would not need gruelling chemotherapy."
