Study results presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in June have breast cancer advocates talking about new information on an old treatment, and a possible new treatment for hard-to-treat breast cancers.
 
Tamoxifen has been around as a treatment for breast cancer for decades, and is now known to work best against breast cancers that are estrogen receptor positive.  However, new study results have raised concerns that Tamoxifen may not be working in patients who are taking certain drugs to relieve one of the major side effects of Tamoxifen.
 
A review of the medical records of almost 1000 women taking Tamoxifen revealed that those who were also taking certain anti-depressants to relieve hot flashes had double the risk of recurrence within the first two years.  However, another study presented at the meeting, a Dutch study, failed to show the same results.  The Dutch researchers found no differences in recurrence rates between those taking the drugs and those who were not.
 
Investigators agree more research is needed before we have a definitive answer.  But until the issue is resolved, most agree that there is enough concern, that patients taking Tamoxifen and other drugs should discuss their options with their physicians.  The drugs of concern include Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft.  Other medications that relieve hot flashes but do not interfere, and are not of concern, include Celexa, Lexapro, and Luvox.  To read more about the two studies, click http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ASCO/14438
 


A New Drug for Hard-to-Treat Breast Cancers
 
Researchers and advocates were excited by results presented at the ASCO meeting on a new class of drugs called PARP inhibitors.  PARP inhibitors prevent damaged cells from repairing themselves.  This means that cancer cells exposed to chemotherapy, and a PARP inhibitor, would be more likely to die off.
 
Early studies looked at PARP inhibitors in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, and in the treatment of those with BRCA mutations.  Early results from both studies were presented at the meeting, and were very positive.  One PARP inhibitor improved survival by 60%, when added to chemotherapy in women with triple-negative, metastatic disease.  Another PARP inhibitor caused tumor shrinkage in 41% of the 54 women in a second study.  These women had breast cancers that were BRCA 1 or 2 deficient, and had not shown any improvement with standard treatment.
 
To read more about both studies click
http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/news/20090602/new-drug-for-hard-to-treat-breast-cancer