BEAT Breast Cancer BEAT

Less Toxic, Targeted Drugs For Breast Cancer

New targeted, less toxic drug protocols referred to as antibody-drug conjugates, armed antibodies or empowered antibodies are the latest class of drugs coming to market.  

Fern Saitowitz’s advanced breast cancer was controlled for about a year by the drug Herceptin and a toxic chemotherapy agent. But her hair fell out, her fingernails turned black and she was constantly fatigued.

She switched to an experimental treatment, which also consisted of Herceptin and a chemotherapy agent. Only this time, the two drugs were attached to each other, keeping the toxic agent inactive until the Herceptin carried it to the tumor. Side effects, other than temporary nausea and some muscle cramps, vanished.

“I’m able to live a normal life,” said Ms. Saitowitz, 47, a mother of two young children in Los Angeles. “I haven’t lost any of my hair.”

The experimental treatment, called T-DM1, is a harbinger of a new class of cancer drugs that may be more effective and less toxic than many existing treatments. By harnessing antibodies to deliver toxic payloads to cancer cells, while largely sparing healthy cells, the drugs are a step toward the “magic bullets” against cancer first envisioned by Paul Ehrlich, a German Nobel laureate, about 100 years ago.

“It’s almost like we’re masking the chemotherapy,” said Dr. Edith Perez, a breast cancer specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla.

 

Study untangles gene changes behind breast cancer

Scientists have mapped the complete genetic codes of 21 breast cancers and created a catalogue of the mutations that build up in breast cells.  Hopefully this will lead to better diagnoses, interventions and treatments. 

 

The research, the first of its kind, untangles the genetic history of how cancer evolves, allowing scientists to identify mutational patterns that fuel the growth of breast tumors, and start to work out the processes behind them.

Can Medicinal Mushrooms Slow Breast Cancer Metastasis To The Lungs?

From Marketwatch: "Winning the Battle Against Breast Cancer Metastasis"

Scientists at Indiana University Health's Cancer Research Laboratory have found that a sophisticated botanical formula slows human breast cancer growth and inhibits breast to lung metastasis in mice. The formula contains extracts from medicinal mushrooms, medicinal herbs and purified nutritional compounds, and showed no toxic side-effects. These results were presented at the April 2012 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting .

Virus Can Kill Breast Cancer Cells

Scientists at Penn State School of Medicine discovered a virus that kills all types of breast cancer cells.  

The virus, known as adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV2), is naturally occurring and carried by up to 80 percent of humans, but it does not cause any disease.

Researchers learned of its cancer-killing properties in 2005, after Penn State scientists observed it killing cervical cancer cells. They also found that women who carried the AAV2 virus and human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer, had a lower propensity to develop cervical cancer.

 

Blood Test To Predict Breast Cancer?

The UK Telegraph reports that a blood test to predict breast cancer could be on the horizon.  This would allow doctors to advise patients of important preventative and lifestyle changes they could make decades in advance of whne they might be affected by the disease.  

Researchers have identified a 'genetic switch', carried by one in five women, that doubles their risk of developing breast cancer.

Experts described the breakthrough by scientists at Imperial College London as "exciting" and said signs of the disease could be detected "many decades in advance".

Help Darlene Gant, Mother Dying of Breast Cancer

Darlene Gant has been denied compassionate use of a drug that could potnetially help her. 

 

"I am stage 4 breast cancer and am in final stages. I have a beautiful son, Cameron age 11 that is watching me die little by little each day, as well as my husband. It is tearing us up and so many other families are going through this too. The most unfortunate part is that there is a very promising drug for me, Pertuzumab that the FDA is just sitting on since December and does not plan on releasing it until June 2012. I am not expected to make it to June, my liver is engulfed with tumors and I am wasting away. In this video, which we did not plan, I am reading cards that I have filled out for my son from age 12-25 for birthdays, graduation, wedding et.... I am trying to leave him pieces of me to comfort him and let him know how much I love him - he is my world. I can handle dying but not leaving my son. You see I want to finish my mission here and raise my baby to manhood. For years I have watched other women die waiting on the FDA to release a drug that has concluded all their trials and data and they would not give the drug for compassionate use then either. I do NOT qualify for any trials as my disease has progressed to much. We must stand together and not let anyone else die WAITING. Please help by passing on this video link and writing to your local congressman or senator. Support the NBCC, National Breast Cancer Coalition as they are fighting for us and with us to make compassionate use a standard. It may be too late for me but there are so many others waiting and yet to come. Blessings.

To help, please contact Genentech at www.Gene.com, and request 

compassionate care use of Pertuzumab for Darlene Gant. 
Contact Darlene at HelpDarleneGant@yahoo.com

 

Protein Perp May Help Suppress Breast Cancer

The protein Perp helps suppress breast cancer cells, according to research from Stanford University. 

The protein Perp, associated with desmosomes (the glue that sticks cells together), is involved in suppressing breast cancer and offers a potential new target for future treatment, a new study has revealed.

Desmosomes attach neighbouring cells together and it is these tiny collections of proteins, which are responsible for the mechanical strength of organs and tissues within the body.

 

Breast Cancer Broken Into Ten Distinct Groups

A cancer breakthrough holds promise for women to get better treatments.

 

 

Breast Cancer Treatment Side Effects Last For Years

An Australian study reveals that side effects from breast cancer treatments last for years.  

Researchers looked at 287 Australian breast cancer patients and found that more than 60 percent of them had at least one treatment-related complication up to six years after their diagnosis, and 30 percent had at least two complications.

Eating Smart Helps Fight Breast Cancer

Once again smart eating is recommended to keep the risk of breast cancer down.  

How? By encouraging you to eat lots of 100 percent whole grains and veggies. That’s right. The high-fiber component of that duo accounts for an 11 percent reduction in breast cancer risk! But dodging breast cancer isn’t ALL about avoiding toxins: You also need to stay at a healthy weight, only have one drink a day (or none if you’re at high risk of breast cancer), consider taking two baby aspirins a day (with half a glass of warm water before and after) and opt for hormone replacement therapy (use bioidentical estradiol and micronized progesterone) during pre-menopause if you’re not at extra risk for breast cancer.