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.

Speaking on the eve of Pink Ribbon Day yesterday, consultant oncologist, Dr John Kennedy, said Irish patients were now able to access new cancer treatments that previously would only be available in the US and other European countries.

“This means that cancer patients, including breast cancer patients, are living for longer,” he said.

Dr Kennedy is a member of the ICORG, the All Ireland Clinical Oncology research Group, and principal clinical trials investigator.

Pink Ribbon Day is the major fund raising day of Action Breast Cancer, a programme of the Irish Cancer Society. Last year, the charity committed €2.9 million to cancer research.