2023-11-28 20:30:00
Quebec women suffering from one of the worst breast cancers will be among the first in the world to benefit from clinical trials that might improve their chances of survival, thanks to a local medical breakthrough.
“Patients are waiting for us and I hope that the study will allow us to make their hopes come true […] And that Quebec patients are served first is quite unique,” rejoices Dr. Jamil Asselah, oncologist at the McGill University Health Center and member of the steering committee of the global TROPION-Breast04 study.
Even though it only represents 15% of cases of breast cancer, triple negative cancer is one of the most serious. It is a cancer with a high risk of recurrence and metastases, which is “a catastrophe in terms of prognoses,” says Dr. Asselah.
“Once [les cancers triple négatifs] become widespread, almost all of our patients die following 5 years,” he says, hence the urgency of developing new treatments.
More targeted
Clinical trials, which begin here before launching in 19 countries, pair new drugs for a more targeted treatment than traditional chemotherapy.
The first is an antibody drug designed to target and damage a protein on the surface of cancer cells. The second is an immunotherapy treatment which works with the immune system to detect and eliminate cancer cells.
By attacking triple negative cancer cells more directly, while traditional chemotherapy affects all cells, researchers hope to reduce the risk of recurrence.
“This is the hypothesis,” specifies Dr. Asselah, also president of the scientific committee of the McPeak-Sirois Group, who is leading the study locally. If Canada is conducting these clinical trials first, it is because of the interesting results obtained in the previous phases.
First in the world
Moreover, Montrealer Nancie Brunet was the first in the world to receive the new drugs once morest her triple negative breast cancer.
“It was super important for me, because it changes the situation for the women who follow,” breathes the 52-year-old woman.
Nancie Brunet was the first woman in the world to receive an experimental treatment for triple negative breast cancer. PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE MUHC
Last year, she underwent 16 traditional chemotherapy treatments and a partial mastectomy, but cancer cells remained present, given the aggressiveness of her cancer.
The more targeted treatment was much less harsh on her body, with fewer side effects, she explains, giving her a better quality of life. She no longer needed to sleep 18 hours a day, for example.
She therefore hopes that young women will be able to obtain less harmful care, since widespread chemotherapy can harm fertility.
Now her chances of recurrence are also minimal, she says hopefully.
What is TROPION-Breast04?
A global phase 3 clinical trial aiming to include 1700 participants in 19 countries. It combines an antibody treatment to target the TROP2 protein in cancer cells and an immunotherapy treatment to work with the immune system. Triple negative breast cancer gets its name because it lacks any of the three usual targets for breast cancer treatments: estrogen (ER), progesterone (PR) receptors and the HER2 protein.
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