Promising Research for Women with Breast Cancer

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Around the country, all sorts of activities and events will raise awareness about breast cancer and raise money for research.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women, second only to lung cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates there will be about 230,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer in the United States this year, and nearly 40,000 deaths. Studies are underway into the cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure of breast cancer. One of the most promising research efforts is known as I-SPY-TRIAL , Investigation of Serial Studies to Predict Your Therepeutic Response with Imaging And MoLecular Analysis.

Patients diagnosed with breast cancer now have an opportunity to enroll in this groundbreaking clinical trial, in which promising new drugs are individually targeted to the characteristics of each patient's tumor. Researchers will immediately drop drugs that don't work or have unacceptable side effects, while fast-tracking effective drugs for further study.

The five-year, $26 million project is led by the Foundation of the National Institutes of Health and is sponsored by the Biomarkers Consortium, a unique public-private partnership that includes the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health and major pharmaceutical companies.

Two centers in Illinois are participating in this nationwide trial: University of Chicago Medical Center and Loyola University Medical Center. My colleague Kathy Albain, M.D., one of the nation's leading breast cancer physician researchers, is lead researcher at the Loyola site.

Patients will receive chemotherapy and an investigational drug before surgery. For women with larger tumors, the presurgical therapy also can shrink tumors and allow for breast-conserving surgery.

Patients will be randomly assigned to receive standard chemotherapy or chemotherapy plus an investigational drug. Patients will have one MRI scan during the screening phase and a series of MRIs during the treatment phase. Patients also will have two biopsies. The cancer will then be completely removed at the time of surgery.

Eligibility for the trial should be determined before the tumor is treated or removed. The tumor must be at least one inch in size. (At Loyola, a multidisciplinary team will conduct a rapid screening to determine whether a patient meets enrollment criteria.

For more information, call Kathy Czaplicki, RN, 708-327-3222 or visit http://www.ispy2.org.

Tagged as: wellness, womens issues, breast cancer, breast cancer awareness, Loyola University Chicago and University of Chicago

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Dr. Anita Varkey is medical director of the general medicine clinic at Loyola Outpatient Center at Loyola University Health System. Dr. Varkey is an internist, researcher and professor who specializes in primary care, preventive medicine and women's health. "TCWell" focuses on health and wellness issues.