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A novel cancer drug designed by scientists from The University of Auckland and the Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to enter clinical trials.
Pathway Therapeutics Inc, a University of Auckland spin-out company, has also secured an additional US $7.5 million in investment to undertake the Phase I clinical trials.
The drug, PWT33597, is a dual inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) alpha and mTOR, two key molecules implicated in cancer. It is the first agent with this biological profile to enter the clinic trials phase.
BCAC applauds the recommendations of Parliament’s Health Select Committee to make it easier to conduct clinical trials in New Zealand.
The committee has been considering how New Zealand can improve innovation through clinical trials and released its report this week (08/06/11).
It made four key recommendations. These were to:
- simplify and streamline ethical review processes
- promote collaboration between Government departments to coordinate the system
- develop a national health research action plan to foster innovation and commercialisation
- develop a framework for clinical trial research throughout district health boards, to be facilitated by a hub.
The report will now be considered by the Government.
Millions of women facing an elevated risk for breast cancer could slash their chances of getting the widely feared malignancy by taking a hormone-blocking pill used to treat the disease or prevent a recurrence, researchers say.
A compound known as an aromatase inhibitor cuts the breast cancer risk by 65 per cent for women prone to the disease for any reason, such as having risky genes, a relative who had the disease or being older than age 60, a long-awaited international study of more than 4500 women has concluded.
BCAC is thrilled the government's drug buying agency, PHARMAC, is considering fully funding the chemotherapy medicine, docetaxel, for all types of breast cancer.
Currently, only some women with Her2-Positive breast cancer have access to funded docetaxel.
BCAC has long campaigned for docetaxel to be subsidised for all types of breast cancer and this has been supported by medical professionals through the Breast Cancer Special Interest Group of the New Zealand Association of Cancer Specialists (BSIG).
PHARMAC is now accepting submissions to fully fund the drug for all cancers. Submissions are due to the agency before 3 June 2011.
BCAC chair, Libby Burgess, says this latest development is great news for New Zealand women with breast cancer.
BCAC welcomes latest Government reports which show that 99 per cent of all cancer patients needing radiation therapy start treatment within four weeks.
Government figures for the third quarter of this year show that cancer patients in all DHBs received radiation treatment within six weeks and most received the treatment within four weeks.
BCAC chair, Libby Burgess, says shorter waiting times for radiation treatment are welcome relief for cancer patients and their families.
"It was only a few years ago that some patients were having to wait for months for radiation treatment and some were even being sent to Australia for radiation therapy," Libby says.
Weird title to a Breast Cancer story - right?
Gertrude was the name we gave to my cancerous breast - I had to keep my breast through chemo and radiation due to the nature of Inflammatory Breast Cancer - once it 'blew up' it no longer looked like my breast and I couldn't wait to get rid of it. Calling it Gertrude was a way of separating it from myself.
Get Out Gertrude is the name of a blog I started to tell my family and friends about my journey. Along the way it has also become the repository of all my thoughts and feelings as well. You can read more here http://getoutgertrude.wordpress.com
BCAC is strongly supportive of the need to gather accurate information about the incidence of breast cancer in New Zealand through breast cancer patient registers.
This year's Pink Ribbon Breakfast campaign run by BCAC member group, the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation, is raising money to establish breast cancer patient registers in all New Zealand oncology units.
BCAC deputy chair, Chris Walsh, says quality information detailing the types of breast cancer, types of treatment used and survival rates among New Zealand women would help to improve breast cancer treatment in New Zealand.
On this page, you can view videos of women and men talking about their experiences of breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, care and life afterwards and see how they have coped with this challenging experience.
