New breast cancer drug gives hope to Irish women

A NEW drug offering fresh hope to women with an aggressive form of breast cancer has been approved for use in record time by the European Commission.

It took just 27 days for the commission to authorise the application for the cancer fighting drug called Herceptin because data on its effectiveness in treating early stage HER2-positive breast cancer is so compelling.

The approval will ensure that every woman in Ireland with early stage HER2-positive breast cancer will have access to the lifesaving treatment.

Cancer specialist, Prof John Crown, said Irish oncologists agreed to prescribe the drug immediately after the data confirmed that it worked.

Prof Crown, who played a leading role in the study that involved 129 Irish patients, said the intravenous drug had the potential to save the lives of hundreds of women over the coming years.

“This marks one of the most exciting developments in the treatment of breast cancer in decades,” he said yesterday.

The approval is based on an international study involving 12,000 patient that found that the drug reduces the risk of the cancer returning by almost half, compared to chemotherapy alone.

Over a quarter of women with breast cancer have HER2-type tumours.

Herceptin, which has been used to treat advanced cancer for a number of years, is an antibody that works by attaching itself to HER2, a protein found on some breast cancer cells and blocking its function, which is to instruct other cancer cells to grow.

Prof Crown pointed out that Britain was one of a number of European countries that had been dragging its heels in introducing the drug.

Action Breast Cancer services information manager, Naomi Fitzgibbon, said that while breast cancer statistics were increasing in Ireland, women were also becoming more breast aware.

Those with concerns about breast cancer should contact the Action Breast Cancer helpline on 1800 30 90 40 during office hours. They can also visit www.cancer.ie/action.