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A breakthrough breast cancer drug can now be used in New Zealand, but the Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC) is calling for Ibrance (palbociclib) to be publicly funded immediately.
MedSafe NZ has just approved the use of Ibrance for those with advanced hormone receptor positive and HER2-negative breast cancer, but it’s only available to those who can pay for it.
Ibrance is an innovative new drug and preliminary clinical evidence for it was so strong that the United States Food and Drug Administration fast-tracked its use in that country.
BCAC chairperson Libby Burgess says hundreds of women could potentially benefit from Ibrance now that it is available in New Zealand.
A new study has found that annual mammograms beginning at age 40 prevent the greatest number of breast cancer deaths.
The research from Weill Cornell Medicine investigators was published in the journal Cancer and found that annual screening beginning at age 40 resulted in 40% fewer breast cancer deaths.
New Zealand women currently have access to free biennial screening between the ages of 45 and 69 and this latest research has ignited the debate as to whether this is good enough.
The study used computer modelling to estimate the effects of three different screening schemes using data from US women born in either 1960 or 1970. The three different screening measures explored were:
A new study has found that moderate-to-vigorous physical activity can help to allay fatigue and “chemo brain” in breast cancer patients and survivors.
The University of Illinois research looked at the association between physical activity, fatigue and performance on cognitive tasks in nearly 300 breast cancer survivors.
The women in the study wore a movement tracker to record physical activity and also completed a number of questionnaires and tests on an ipad to measure cognitive function. The researchers found that the women who did more moderate-to-vigorous exercise per day had less fatigue, which allowed them to have better cognitive function.
Scientists have discovered a new stem cell-based cancer treatment that can target and kill breast cancer cells that have spread in mice.
The researchers at the University of California Irvine (UCI) also hope that the new treatment may prevent some of the toxic side-effects of chemotherapy by providing a more localised therapy.
The new treatment works by using stem cells from human bone marrow which have been genetically engineered with a piece of “code” that enables the cells to detect cancerous tissue (which is stiffer than normal tissue), lock onto it and then release a chemotherapy drug.
A new study has estimated the ages at which women with BRCA 1 and 2 mutations are most at risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.
The UK research found that the highest rates of breast cancer in women with the faulty BRCA1 gene were seen between the ages of 30 to 40. This peak occurred a decade later for those with a faulty BRCA2 gene.
BCAC is pushing for breakthrough breast cancer drug, Kadcyla, to be publicly funded in New Zealand after a “monumental u-turn” in the UK which has seen the drug funded there.
UK authorities had refused to fund the medicine, which is used to treat people with advanced HER2- positive breast cancer, because it was too expensive.
But a deal between the pharmaceutical company, Roche, and the UK’s National Health Service has reduced the cost and means the medicine can now be offered in the public health service.
BCAC’s chairperson Libby Burgess is now urging the New Zealand government’s drug-buying agency PHARMAC and Roche to start negotiations about the cost of Kadcyla in this country.
A new study has found that neuropathy or nerve pain brought on by chemotherapy can continue for many years after treatment has finished.
The US study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, followed more than 500 female cancer survivors (75% of whom had been treated for breast cancer).
The researchers found that those women who experienced Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy or CIPN also had worse physical functioning and a significantly higher risk of falls.
A new study shows that the number of women living with advanced breast cancer in the USA is growing and BCAC believes the situation is likely to be the same in New Zealand.
The research, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, also looked at survival rates for women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC), which is breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) researchers say that median and five-year relative survival rate for women initially diagnosed with MBC is improving, especially among younger women.
New research shows that women taking Aromatase Inhibitors (AIs) as part of their breast cancer treatment have a two to four fold increase in bone loss compared to the usual rate associated with menopause.
AIs are often prescribed for women with hormone-receptive breast cancer and work to block the production of oestrogen in post-menopausal women.
The research, published in the Journal of Bone Oncology, has prompted a range of organisations to update their advice to women taking AIs as part of breast cancer treatment to help prevent bone loss and related fractures.
The Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC) welcomes new funding for the Government’s drug-buying agency, PHARMAC, but warns that it is not enough to make a real difference.
The Government has announced a $60 million increase in funding for PHARMAC over the next four years as part of Vote Health in Budget 2017.
