Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Breast Cancer-Fighting Pill Helps Keep Recurrence At Bay: Study
Stat: Drug Prevents Return Of Breast Cancer Caused By BRCA Mutations
Lynparza, a cancer-fighting pill marketed by AstraZeneca and Merck, reduced the risk that breast cancer would return in an invasive form when it was given for a year to patients who carried cancer-causing variants of the BRCA gene. The companies had reported that the study stopped early in February, but the actual results, released on Thursday, are striking, and several experts said they were likely to change treatment for people with aggressive breast cancer caused by genes they have inherited. The full results are being presented this weekend at the annual virtual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. They are also being published in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Herper, 6/3)
The Wall Street Journal: Breast-Cancer Pill Reduced Recurrence, Death In Early-Stage Patients, Study Finds
The finding, which on Thursday was published online by the New England Journal of Medicine and released at a major cancer-research meeting, marked the latest advance in cancer treatments targeting the genetic traits of tumors. It could expand the arsenal of weapons against a hereditary form of breast cancer. The result also helps validate the pharmaceutical industry’s investment in a pricey new class of drugs that target cancer cells, known as PARP inhibitors. (Loftus, 6/3)
AP: Pill Shows Benefit In Certain Hard-To-Treat Breast Cancers
It was studied in patients with mutations in genes known as BRCA1 and BRCA2 that can predispose people to breast cancer if they don’t work properly, but who did not have a gene flaw that can be targeted by the drug Herceptin. Most patients in the study also had tumors that were not fueled by the hormones estrogen or progesterone. Cancers not fueled by these two hormones or by the gene Herceptin targets are called “triple negative.” They are especially hard to treat. (Johnson, 6/3)
In other breast cancer news —
Axios: Breast Cancer Leads Cancer Causes Of Death Among Latinas
The most common cancer diagnosed among U.S. Latinas is breast cancer, and it's their leading cause of cancer-related death, research published in the journal Cancer Control found. Why it matters: "While they are less likely to get breast cancer than other ethnic groups, Hispanic women who are diagnosed are 20% more likely than white women to die from the disease," the Baltimore Sun writes. (Gonzalez, 6/3)
KGO-TV: Grieving Husband Tries To Donate Expensive Leftover Breast Cancer Drug, But No One Will Let Him
Ed Casaccia's wife Maggie died three weeks ago from breast cancer. He has an unopened box of 21 tablets of her cancer drugs, which he estimates cost $24,000 without insurance. He wants to give the medication to someone who needs it, but that task has proven impossible. ... His dilemma is familiar to that of State Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), whose grandfather died of cancer. The San Gabriel Valley lawmaker has authored Senate Bill 310 that would launch a pilot program to allow unused cancer drugs to be recycled. As with many proposed bills, it has been amended to gain support. It also addresses liability issues. (Louie, 6/3)
PBS NewsHour: Why Black Women Face A Triple Threat From Breast Cancer
For Black women in America, a breast cancer diagnosis brings with it a disturbing statistic. Black women are less likely to develop breast cancer but 40 percent more likely to die from it than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yamiche Alcindor reports on the complicated story behind the statistics. (6/3)
