The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug that will
help women with hard to treat breast cancer. The type of breast cancer
it targets, HER2, is an aggressive form and spreads even with treatment.
This new drug, called Kadcyla, may not cure women of the breast cancer, but it can add many more months onto their lives.
“Kadcyla delivers the drug to the cancer site to shrink the tumor, slow disease progression and prolong survival," Dr. Richard Pazdur, director of the FDA's office of hematology and oncology products.In a trial conducted with results published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 991 patients with HER2 were treated and lived an average of 5.8 months longer, about half a year longer than others.
“Only a few studies in metastatic breast cancer have shown an improvement in overall survival. It’s tough to do,” Dr. Sunil Verma of the Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre in Toronto, who led the study, said in a statement on the National Cancer Institute’s website.
The drug comes with a price - $94,000 for a 10 month supply. The company will give discounts, or in some cases get it free of charge. Those who have hit their health coverage limit or do not have insurance can get it for free through Genetech, the company who makes the drug.
For more information, visit http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/22/17057745-new-breast-cancer-drug-helps-advanced-cases?lite.
This new drug, called Kadcyla, may not cure women of the breast cancer, but it can add many more months onto their lives.
“Kadcyla delivers the drug to the cancer site to shrink the tumor, slow disease progression and prolong survival," Dr. Richard Pazdur, director of the FDA's office of hematology and oncology products.In a trial conducted with results published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 991 patients with HER2 were treated and lived an average of 5.8 months longer, about half a year longer than others.
“Only a few studies in metastatic breast cancer have shown an improvement in overall survival. It’s tough to do,” Dr. Sunil Verma of the Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre in Toronto, who led the study, said in a statement on the National Cancer Institute’s website.
The drug comes with a price - $94,000 for a 10 month supply. The company will give discounts, or in some cases get it free of charge. Those who have hit their health coverage limit or do not have insurance can get it for free through Genetech, the company who makes the drug.
For more information, visit http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/22/17057745-new-breast-cancer-drug-helps-advanced-cases?lite.
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