Irish women first to trial breast cancer treatment

Irish women will be the first in the world to take part in a clinical trial to treat one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer.

Women with advanced triple-negative breast cancer will be treated with the oral drug COTI-2, together with chemotherapy, at St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin.

More than 250 people are diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer each year that is often difficult to treat and tends to be more common in younger women.

Research on the targeted therapy carried out by Dr Naoise Synott in University College Dublin and St Vincent’s was funded by the Irish Cancer Society’s Breast-Predict research programme and the Clinical Cancer Research Trust.

The Irish Cancer Society is announcing the clinical trial today which is also Daffodil Day, to show how the public can contribute to such vital research.

Money collected on Daffodil Day, the charity’s biggest fundraiser, is used to fund cancer research and support cancer patients by providing advice and support.

Irish Cancer Society chief executive Averil Power said it would support more potentially life-saving research projects if it has enough funds to support them.

Catriona Plunkett was 35 years old when she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in June 2016.

Later that year, the Dublin mother of two got the all-clear after having chemotherapy, a mastectomy, and reconstruction.

Ms Plunkett said she was terrified when she found out she had cancer but in the end realised she was one of the lucky ones — she was caught early.

Currently, the only form of drug treatment available to patients with triple-negative breast cancer is chemotherapy.

It is hoped that the trial, to be funded by Cotinga Pharmaceuticals, will begin recruiting patients later this year.

The trial will be aimed at women whose triple-negative breast cancer has spread beyond the breast.

Any cancer patients with queries on clinical trials should talk to their medical team or see cancertrials.ie for information on cancer trials open in Ireland.