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BCAC says a new report highlights how desperately poor access to new and innovative medicines is in New Zealand.
The Medicines NZ Medicines Landscape 2017 report finds that New Zealand comes last out of 20 comparable OECD countries for access to publicly-funded new medicines.
The report says this means more than 230,000 patients in New Zealand are currently waiting for access to medicines that are not yet approved for public funding in this country.
The report highlights at least 80 medicines that are deemed to have a clinical benefit for patients and which have been recommended for public funding, but are not yet funded by the Government’s drug buying agency PHARMAC.
BCAC committee member, Louise Malone, attended the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December 2017 and gives us an update on the latest cutting-edge research into new targeted immunotherapy treatments.
As cancer researchers better understand the complex interchanges between tumour cells and immune cells and the microenvironment in which they operate, new targets for therapy are emerging.
Many charities rely on the time and expertise of volunteers to provide their services. Finding people with enough of both can be a challenge.
BCAC member group, Breast Cancer Support (BCS) has risen to that challenge, appointing a new governing team of seven multi-talented, enthusiastic and motivated women at its recent AGM.
BCS provides peer support services to women diagnosed with breast cancer and has nine support groups in Auckland, one in Christchurch, a local affiliate in Levin, and nationwide one to one support via its 0800 Help Line.
2018 Chair Helen Goudge has a professional background in marketing and publicity, and event management. She will utilise her skills to grow a membership base and organise fundraising activities.
In the most comprehensive study ever looking at the genetics of breast cancer, scientists have linked 110 genes to an increased risk of the disease.
The Institute of Cancer Research study used a pioneering genetic technique to analyse 63 areas of the genome that had previously been associated with the risk of breast cancer.
Finding the genes responsible for increased risk is not straightforward because small sequences of DNA can interact with completely different parts of the genome through a strange phenomenon known as ‘DNA looping’.
But the researchers used a technique called Capture Hi-C to study interactions between different regions of the genome.
New research from the UK shows how alcohol damages DNA in stem cells and helps to explain why drinking can increase your risk of cancer.
The study, by scientists at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge has been published in the journal Nature, and used mice to show how alcohol exposure leads to permanent genetic damage.
Scientists gave diluted alcohol (known as ethanol) to mice. They then used chromosome analysis and DNA sequencing to examine the genetic damage caused by acetaldehyde, a harmful chemical produced when the body processes alcohol.
They found that acetaldehyde can break and damage DNA within blood stem cells which leads to rearranged chromosomes and permanently altered DNA sequences in these cells.
Researchers in the US have identified two new genes associated with breast cancer: MSH6 and PMS2.
The new study suggests that each gene approximately doubles a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer by age 60. The two genes were previously known to cause Lynch syndrome, an inherited condition that raises the risk of colorectal, ovarian, stomach, and endometrial cancer.
This study shows that some women with Lynch syndrome are also more likely to develop breast cancer.
The Horowhenua Pink Ladies Breast Cancer Support (BCS) Group has had a busy few months. They have welcomed several new members since Christmas so have had a lot of new women in their local area to support.
They enjoy seeing all their members at the monthly meetings which are held on the third Wednesday of every month at the Salvation Army Lounge in Levin - normally there are between 25 and 30 women attending these meetings.
A new study has found that acupuncture significantly reduces joint pain for post-menopausal women with early-stage breast cancer taking aromatase inhibitors.
The research, presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, involved a randomised controlled trial comparing acupuncture, sham acupuncture and no acupuncture.
Lead researcher Dr Dawn Hershaman says aromatase inhibitors are among the most common and effective treatments given to post-menopausal women diagnosed with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer.
A combination of the breakthrough drug Keytruda and Herceptin is well tolerated and has clinical benefits for patients with Herceptin-resistant HER2-positive breast cancer.
The new treatment regimen was tested in a clinical trial on patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer that had continued to grow on Herceptin (trastuzumab) therapies.
The results were presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and researchers say they suggest that immunotherapy approaches could work in patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer that is resistant to Herceptin.
Lead researcher, Dr Sherene Loi says approximately 20 percent of invasive breast cancers are HER2-positive, and some of these patients will develop resistance to trastuzumab.
Increasing the dose intensity of chemotherapy by shortening the time period between treatments may help to reduce the risk of breast cancer recurring, a new study shows.
The research, presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, also noted that delivering drugs sequentially rather than at the same time helped to reduce the risk of recurrence and death.
The study involved a meta-analysis of a number of clinical trials comparing treatments in which chemotherapy was given every two weeks instead of every three weeks, and others in which anthracycline and taxane-based chemotherapies were infused sequentially rather than concurrently as is usual practice.
