Irish breast cancer breakthrough

THE treatment of breast cancer is set to become significantly more effective as a result of a medical breakthrough by Irish scientists.

One-in-four breast cancer patients experience a return of the illness within five years of being cleared, which means they must go through a range of difficult therapies all over again.

But the test being developed, thanks to work at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), could reduce that rate significantly, saving hundreds of women in this country alone from the trauma of repeating chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments.

It will help to identify the severity of the cancer and the likely response to different types of drugs, giving doctors the ability to devise tailor-made drug combinations for each patient and to reduce the likelihood of the cancer returning.

Dr Leonie Young, leader of the 16-member research team, said they are already in talks with companies about the possible licensing of the innovation.

“We have identified a biomarker in blood that can help predict what kind of treatment is best suited to each patient. Once someone is diagnosed, their blood can go to the hospital lab and the results will give the consultant a clear picture very quickly,” she said.

The research findings are the culmination of a decade’s work and have been funded by Science Foundation Ireland and Breast Cancer Ireland.

More than 1,700 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in Ireland each year, making it the second most common form of the disease here.