Avancées majeures dans le traitement du cancer du sein
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Paris – 14 mai 2024 – De nouvelles avancées dans le traitement du cancer du sein, présentées notamment lors de l’ASCO, ouvrent de nouvelles perspectives pour les patientes. Qui ? des chercheurs et des équipes médicales de renom. Quoi ? Des essais cliniques prometteurs utilisant des biopsies liquides et des thérapies ciblées. Où ? Les recherches sont menées dans plusieurs centres. Quand ? Les résultats sont récents. Pourquoi ? Pour améliorer la survie et la qualité de vie. Ces avancées, soutenues par des experts, confirment l’importance cruciale de la recherche continue dans la lutte contre le cancer. Pour en savoir plus sur ces traitements révolutionnaires,poursuivez votre lecture.
INAVO120 focused on advanced HER+, HER2- breast cancers with mutated PIK3CA genes, which appear in about one in three cases. First, researchers used liquid biopsy tests to pick out bits of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) breast cancer cells release into the bloodstream. By analysing these tests, they could check if patients had PIK3CA mutations. People with those mutations could then be randomised into the trial, which investigated whether adding another targeted drug could help improve survival.
That drug, inavolisib, can both block and destroy the signals mutated PIK3CA genes use to make cancers grow and spread.
Across the three-year, 325-person trial, the new combination increased the average time until a cancer grew or came back to 17 months, compared to seven months in the group that didn’t receive inavolisib. It also more than doubled the percentage of cancers that responded to treatment and tripled the time until people needed chemotherapy.
Dr Nisharnthi Duggan, one of our research information managers, said: “These results are really positive news for people living with a type of hard-to-treat breast cancer. Adding inavolisib to targeted treatment plans improved survival. On top of this, it delayed the progression of people’s cancer and the need for chemotherapy, which could improve quality of life.
“We hope that more research like this will help to give people kinder cancer treatment options, and more time with their loved ones.”
2. SERENA-6: targeting mutations before they help breast cancers grow
Some advanced HER+, HER2- breast cancer patients go on to develop mutations in another gene called ESR1, which reprogrammes oestrogen receptors so they can resist standard hormone therapies. Although ESR1 mutations are rare when people are diagnosed with advanced breast cancer, around 4 in 10 people develop them during treatment.
The SERENA-6 trial used regular liquid biopsies to spot ESR1 mutations as early as possible, so doctors could swap in a drug to counteract them before the tumour began to grow.
That drug, camizestrant, works by blocking and breaking down oestrogen receptors in breast cancer cells, taking away the advantage offered by ESR1 mutations.
The results showed that replacing the standard hormone therapy with camizestrant reduced the risk of breast cancer progression or death by over half (56 %) and increased the average time it took for cancers to grow again from just over nine months to 16.
Elliott said: “This study is a clear example of how blood tests are starting to transform cancer treatment. By tracking tiny traces of tumour DNA in the blood, researchers were able to spot early signs of treatment resistance and switch therapies before cancer had a chance to grow.
“It shows how circulating tumour DNA – or ctDNA – could help doctors make smarter, more timely treatment decisions. This approach could become an important part of how we personalise care for people with advanced breast cancer.”
Liquid biopsies on the NHS
On the eve of ASCO, NHS England announced that it will become the first health service in the world to use liquid biopsies to speed up and personalise lung and breast cancer treatment. Read the article on patient.info for more.
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