Trials help breast cancer sufferers to live longer

CLINICAL trials taking place in Irish universities and hospitals are helping women with breast cancer to live longer, a leading cancer specialist said yesterday.

Irish researchers are currently carrying out 14 breast cancer clinical trials aimed at stopping the recurrence of the disease in patients whose cancer is identified early and slowing the progression of the disease in those where it is more advanced.

One in 11 women living in Ireland will develop breast cancer during their lifetime. Three-quarters of all cases are in women over the age of 50 and over a third over the age of 65.