New Hope in the Fight Against Breast Cancer

While surfing around on the www.cancer.org site, I came across an article that talked about a new drug in the fight against breast cancer. Here is some of what the article was saying along with some great resources for those battling cancer and those in need of support.

On March 13 the FDA approved the new drug, Tykerb (lapatinib). Tykerb is a pill being used to treat women with HER2-positive tumors that have continued to grow despite treatment.

The new pill is to be used in conjunction with Xeloda (capecitabine), a chemotherapy pill. While it is not known if the new pill will help women live longer, in a trial study of nearly 400 women, the combination of drugs lengthened the time it took for the cancer to start growing again in comparison to using Xeloda alone. The study results show a difference of 27 weeks vs. 19 weeks between the two treatments.

"Having an extra option is important for women with this form of breast cancer." said Len Lichtenfeld, MD, deputy chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society.

"We now have a new drug that offers promise and hope to women who have a more aggressive form of breast cancer where until very recently, we had little to offer," he said.

Tykerb is a targeted therapy; it blocks the HER2 protein that sits on top of the breast cancer cells. About 20% of women with breast cancer in the US have too much HER2 in their tumors. So, this is a major break-through in the fight against breast cancer.

As with most treatments, there are side effects and you should talk to you doctor about any discomfort you are having with any medications you are taking.

The makers of Tykerb, GlaxoSmithKline, have set up a program called Tykerb CARES to help women get information about this new drug, including help with insurance coverage and financial assistance. You can reach them at 1-866-489-5372.

Any form of cancer is a vicious opponent, the more resources and treatments we have to fight with; the more likely we are to win this battle. As we discover more treatments and vaccines we get even closer to a cure.