Scientists hail new ‘unprecedented’ pill that boosts survival rates for patients with invasive cancer… with no debilitating side effects
A new pill may slash the risk of deadly breast cancer returning after treatment, a study has revealed.
Swiss drugmaker Roche announced Tuesday that in a new late-stage clinical trial, its experimental pill giredestrant may reduce recurrence rates for ER-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer, the most common form of breast cancer.
About seven in 10, or roughly 220,000, cases of breast cancer every year in the US are ER-positive and HER2-negative.
Despite how common ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer is, the disease is often difficult to treat due to hormonal factors, leaving patients at risk of recurrence. Up to one in three patients see the disease return at least once after typical hormonal treatments.
However, stage three clinical trial results, which are yet to be presented in full, show giredestrant resulted in ‘a statistically significant and clinically meaningful’ improvement in disease-free survival rates compared to standard treatments, which currently include medications to block the effects of estrogen.
The new drug binds to estrogen receptors on the cancer cells and causes them to break down.
Researchers believe giredestrant is the first drug of its kind to show significant benefits after initial cancer treatment.
There were also no serious side effects of the ‘unprecedented’ drug compared to standard treatments, which many patients have to stop due to safety risks.
Maria Costa (pictured here during treatment), 35, was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer after a year of asking for a mammogram. She now fears she will be unable to date or have children
Dr Levi Garraway, chief medical officer and head of Global Product Development at Genentech, said: ‘Today’s results underscore the potential of giredestrant as a new endocrine therapy of choice for people with early-stage breast cancer, where there is a chance for cure.
‘Given that ER-positive breast cancer accounts for approximately 70 percent of cases diagnosed, these findings – together with recent data in the advanced ER-positive setting – suggest that giredestrant has the potential to improve outcomes for many people with this disease.’
Giredestrant is a selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD), a type of hormonal therapy drug that binds to estrogen receptors found on cancer cells and causes them to degrade. This prevents estrogen from signaling the cells to multiply.
ER-positive (estrogen receptor-positive) breast cancer cells have receptors that respond to the female sex hormone estrogen, fueling growth. HER2-negative (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative), meanwhile, means cancer cells that don’t have high levels of the HER2 protein, a protein that causes tumors to grow.
In early cases in which the disease has not spread, 90 percent of patients survive five years after diagnosis. But if it spreads, that rate drops to about 33 percent.
The findings come as breast cancer surges in the US, especially in women under 40 who were long considered spared by the disease.
Experts with the American College of Radiology found the rate of new diagnoses of metastatic breast cancer, which occurs when the disease spreads from its primary site, in women ages 20 to 39 rose by nearly three percent from 2004 to 2021, double that of women in their 70s.
A recent study in JAMA found that breast cancer rates went up by about 0.79 percent each year during the study from from 2000 to 2019. From 2000 to 2016, the increase was slow, at about 0.24 percent per year. But after 2016, the increase became much sharper
Roisin Pelan, pictured with her husband Michael, was diagnosed with breast cancer and given just three years to live
Researchers believe the rise is partly due to younger women falling through the gaps of screening guidelines, as mammograms are not recommended until after age 40, as well as delays in diagnoses during the Covid pandemic.
Emerging research also suggests ultra-processed foods, red meat and sugary drinks may lead to cancer-causing inflammation.
The new study, which is set to be presented at an upcoming meeting, was part of the phase three lidERA Breast Cancer trial, which looked at 4,100 patients with medium- or – high-risk ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer.
The cancer was in stages one, two and three.
While exact findings have not yet been revealed, Roche revealed giredestrant led to significant improvements in survival rates compared to standard hormone therapy, which blocks estrogen receptors.
Standard treatment also often leads to symptoms similar to those in menopause, such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness, while giredestrant was ‘well tolerated.’
A company press release said: ‘This growing body of evidence supports the potential of giredestrant to meaningfully improve outcomes compared with standard-of-care endocrine therapy across ER-positive early-stage and advanced breast cancer.’
