New breast cancer treatment boosts survival rates in young women

New breast cancer treatment boosts survival rates in young women
A new treatment for the most common type of breast cancer significantly improves survival rates among young women. © Belga

A new breast cancer treatment offers promising survival perspectives and a less toxic alternative to chemotherapy to young women affected by the most common type of the disease.

The treatment involves adding the drug Ribociclib —which specifically targets and inhibits the cycle of cancerous cells— to a hormone-based treatment.

The findings concluded an international clinical trial on pre-menopausal women under the age of 59.

The trial showed that survival rates improved by almost 70% amongst patients who had received ribociclib on top of the hormonal treatment, after a three and a half year period.

"You actually can get synergy, or a better response, better cancer kill, by adding one of these cell-cycle inhibitors," Sara Hurvitz, one of the authors of the study, told AFP.

The results, presented last week at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago, were hailed as a major breakthrough in breast cancer treatment, as they offer a less aggressive alternative to traditional chemotherapy-based treatments.

The new trial was conducted on over 600 women affected by late-stage cancer who had not previously received hormone-based treatment.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer amongst Belgian women, with over 10,000 cases diagnosed in 2013, according to the Belgian Cancer Registry.

Gabriela Galindo

The Brussels Times


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