Promising developments in breast cancer therapeutics
More medicines than ever before are in development for the treatment of breast cancer, according to the 'Target Breast Cancer' report by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).
In total, there are almost 400 cancer-targeting compounds worldwide at various stages of development, with 50 of these specifically targeted at breast cancer. More treatments may yet emerge as many cancer medicines prove to be transferable between different types of the disease, but these new medicines will benefit patients only if they are more widely used.
For example, the latest treatment, Herceptin, is currently used more than twice as widely in Germany than in the UK. The UK also lags behind France, Spain and Italy in uptake of this new medicine, and of new medicines in general.
The greatest recent advances in research have arisen from the increasing knowledge of how cell growth is regulated and cell death programmed. This has enabled the development of entirely new strategies for medicine design, ranging from genetically engineered monoclonal antibodies to a battery of small molecule inhibitors.
The report stresses the importance of being 'breast aware' and of participating in the breast screening programme. Its clear message is 'the earlier breast cancer is detected, the greater the options for treatment', which Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, was eager to underline: 'It's vital that the thousands of women living with breast cancer have access to accurate information and reassurance about the disease so that they can make informed choices about their diagnosis, treatment and care, and push for advances of the greatest benefit to be made available.'
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in the UK, with 41,000 cases diagnosed and 13,000 deaths each year, many well before old age. However, the five-year survival rate has steadily increased to 80% in women diagnosed between 1998 and 2001.
On a different note, the report, written by Dr Mike Hall, is the 20th in the 'Target' series and marks his last as an author. Dr Hall has written all 20 of the reports in the series, produced over the last 17 years, which have covered topics including heart disease, leukaemia, Alzheimer's, and schizophrenia.