The battle against breast cancer is an ongoing one, but amazing breakthroughs are being made, thanks to Breakthrough’s teams of scientists who are dedicated to removing the fear of breast cancer for good. Thanks to support from people like you, Breakthrough Breast Cancer are constantly moving forwards in their efforts to remove the fear of breast cancer forever.
Breakthrough scientists develop a method to predict a patients response to Herceptin
Breakthrough Breast Cancer scientists have developed a new method to predict a patient’s response to the drug Herceptin. This is a vital step towards patients receiving the most effective and personalised treatments for their breast cancer. Scientists, based at the Breakthrough Research Unit in Edinburgh were the first to use computer modelling to predict individual responses to cancer treatment.
Dr Dana Faratian, who led the research said: “This work is a major step forward because despite Herceptin benefiting thousands of women, it does not work for some patients. The impact of this new approach could be huge. It shows we can use computer modelling to answer clinical questions and potentially refine the treatment of women with breast cancer”
Researchers now need to find ways to translate these findings on predicting a patient’s response to Herceptin from the laboratory into a test that could work in the clinic.
Breakthrough reach their target of recruiting 100,000 women to the Generations Study
Breakthrough Breast Cancer have reached their recruitment target for the Generations Study. The Generations Study is the world’s largest and most comprehensive study into the causes of breast cancer in which participants will be studied over a 40 year period.
Breakthrough drug trial shows promising results
A patient trial into the first drug specifically targeted for hereditary breast cancer has shown promising results. The drug, called Olaparib, was developed following research at the Breakthrough Research Centre and is the first to use an intelligent new approach to fight breast cancer caused by faulty BRCA genes. It is in an early stage of development but small-scale trial results have been extremely positive.
The study looked at a group of 54 women with advanced breast cancer who had already received chemotherapy; 27 patients took 100 mg doses of Olaparib whilst the other 27 took 400 mg doses. Over 40% of tumours in the higher dose group reduced significantly in size and tumours were prevented from progressing for an average of six months. In one particular case, a patient's tumour disappeared completely. Most patients had only relatively minor side effects, such as fatigue and nausea.
Breakthrough scientists think Olaparib’s impact could be wide-ranging as a highly effective treatment for breast and ovarian cancers caused by BRCA faults. Scientists are therefore hopeful it could be used for a variety of forms of cancer which have similar characteristics and open the door to a new generation of cancer treatments using the same approach.
Breakthrough Breast Cancer opens its second Research Unit which aims to find treatments for aggressive types of breast cancer.
On 12th February 2009 Supermodel Naomi Campbell opened the Research Unit which will investigate triple negative breast cancer, which is more common among younger women and those of African origin. Despite there being up to 6,000 new cases in the UK each year, very little is known about triple negative breast cancer. The research unit, the first of its kind in the UK, has been set up by Breakthrough Breast Cancer and King’s College London and is based at Guy’s Hospital.
Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre launches free database to help speed the path to new treatments
Breakthrough Breast Cancer has launched the world’s most comprehensive breast cancer database – bringing scientific research and clinical data together in one place.
The Rock database is a free resource which allows scientists easy access to an enormous amount of published data on breast cancer. It can be used to generate detailed computer models, which will help refine laboratory experiments. Scientists will be able to look at the complex interactions of all the genes and proteins involved in breast cancer – and avoid duplication of research.
Professor Alan Ashworth, Director of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre, said: ”The Rock database is a smart new system which will help scientists turn their discoveries into benefits for patients much more quickly. It is an exceptionally useful resource for all breast cancer scientists and will allow us to understand more about this complex disease.”
The database – found at rock.icr.ac.uk – is expected to be visited more than 4,000 times each day by cancer scientists around the world, including the 120 scientists working at the Breakthrough Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research in west London.