New Treatment Approach for Metastatic Breast Cancer
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| Rufus Collea, MD |
Principal investigator Rufus Collea, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Albany Medical College and an oncologist with NYOH, says basic research had suggested that the two drugs, carboplatin and Doxil, may be effective together at holding off disease progression. They have been used separately to treat breast cancer.
In the study, which will enroll about 135 patients nationwide, half of the women are given the carboplatin/Doxil combination and the other half receive the two drugs plus another, Herceptin, which has been shown to be effective in women whose tumors are positive for a hormonal receptor called Her 2-neu, which is present in 25 percent of breast cancer patients overall.
"Right now we have a variety of treatments that we offer to women whose breast cancer has spread including hormonal treatments like tamoxifen and some traditional chemotherapy agents. However, we're constantly testing new treatments. There is research showing that some drugs work well together so combining chemotherapy agents has become more popular," says Collea.
The goal, he says, is to increase lifespan without decreasing quality of life. "Whereas with earlier disease, our goal is to cure patients, in advanced disease, the goal is to slow down disease progression. However, when we treat metastasized breast cancer, we want to make patients feel better, not make them sicker."
This is one of many breast cancer and other trials that physicians with NYOH are involved with through its national affiliation with US Oncology.
