The sample size was small and only included people with stage 1 or 2 cancers who had no more than four lymph nodes, Kuper said. The initial results from the Australian trial, which was coordinated by Breast Cancer Trials, are being presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in the United States today. She also continued going to the gym for much of the five-month treatment period. She initially kept working, before cutting back her hours and then stopping altogether. Martin said that while she felt occasionally rundown by chemotherapy, the treatment was relatively smooth. That means the treatment combination used in the trial had far fewer short- and long-term side effects. “But bear in mind that in our trial people received half of the number of chemotherapies and avoided a toxic drug.” “You might think well that’s very similar ,” said Dr Kuper. “That means half of your population is probably going to have a very favourable prognosis.”īreast cancer patients who had a full cycle of chemotherapy without the immunotherapy drug had around a 50 per cent cancer-free rate. “That’s quite a high number,” said Dr Marion Kuper, an oncologist at Waikato Hospital and co-chair of the study. More than half of the participants in the trial had no evidence of cancer in the breast and lymph nodes when they went for surgery after treatment. In all, 108 women with early stage, triple-negative breast cancer took part in the clinical trial, including four women from New Zealand. She was not surprised when it caught up with her, she said. Martin, a mental health nurse, had a family history of breast cancer. She was unsurprised when she was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago, aged 49. She was also conscious that it could be hereditary: she has three adult daughters. Martin, from Hamilton, was alert to this risk for much of her life. Two aunties and a cousin had been diagnosed with it, and another cousin with breast cancer had died at just 36 years old. A new trial involving New Zealand women looked at whether patients might have a more targeted, less intensive treatment.īreast cancer had stalked Lisa Martin’s family. Triple-negative breast cancer is aggressive, likely to recur and nearly always requires chemotherapy. ![]() The trial, which involved an immunotherapy drug and a shorter course of chemotherapy, eliminated her cancer. Lisa Martin was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer two years ago, and immediately opted to join a clinical trial.
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