Breast cancer: More studies needed on chemo treatment

MORE studies need to be done to find why chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer works for some patients but not for others, a team of leading experts said yesterday.

Fifty-six researchers analysed trends surrounding the disease and found barriers to improving patient care.

The British charity, Breast Cancer Campaign, which funds some of the experts, said the study showed not enough is known about why treatments fail to work for some patients. Thousands of women die from breast cancer each year because treatments are not always effective or fail to halt the disease, it said.

The study, published in the journal Breast Cancer Research, is said to be one of the largest carried out.

Groups in seven key research areas also worked to review literature on the disease.

Gaps existed across all the themes, including in the knowledge of how genetics influence cancer, how cancer spreads and recurs, prevention, and how the disease impacts psychologically and socially on patients from a range of ethnic and demographic backgrounds.

Summary papers were prepared by each group, which informed the main position paper containing key recommendations.

The authors said: “General barriers to progress were lack of financial and practical resources, and poor collaboration between disciplines.”

The experts made a series of recommendations, including creating better models to predict and prevent breast cancer, improving research trials and greater sharing of information among clinicians.

They also called for better methods to determine how and why breast cancer spreads to other parts of the body and determining the effectiveness of a treatment at an early stage.

Tackling gaps in research and knowledge would result in long-term benefits for patients, including better estimation of the hereditary risk of breast cancer and better prediction of a patient’s prognosis, they said.

“Research into the pathophysiology, detection, treatment, prevention and psychosocial aspects of breast cancer has produced a wealth of knowledge and has led to substantial improvement,” the authors said.

But the gaps needed to be resolved, which could then lead to a “substantial impact on the diagnosis, management and prevention of breast cancer”.