Cure Magazine Focuses on TNBC

Cure magazine recently ran a comprehensive article on TNBC.  It was well-researched and balanced.  I love the introductory survivor story, plus the many quotes from docs who emphasize that the disease is survivable.  The writers used the statistic that 30 percent of TNBC cases are fatal.  That does mean that 70 percent aren't.  Still, to clarify, stage matters, and early stage TNBC is highly survivable, with some studies showing more than a 90 percent survivor rate.

And, after five years, survivor rates for TNBC are better than for non-TNBC.  So, yay there!

I was in the article's sidebar, which focused on the fact that the disease is far less ominous than some think.  My mantra:  Most women survive TNBC and go on to live long, meaningful lives.  I am seven years past diagnosis, and I know many women who are several decades past.  So take that, TNBC.  My favorite quote in the entire piece is in this sidebar, from Lisa Carey, M.D., of the University of North Carolina, who has an impressive record of TNBC research:

“People go online and Google TNBC, and they see all these scary stories. But a half-inch, node-negative TNBC tumor is not high risk, no matter what.” 

• Read more about TNBC in my book, Surviving Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

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Carboplatin shows better response for TNBC patients, but what about toxicity?

There has been a good amount of evidence that cisplatin and carboplatin are effective for TNBC patients, especially those with BRCA mutations.  A recent German study used a pretty potent cocktail to specifically test the the effect of carboplatin on pathologically complete response, which is tied to a better prognosis for TNBC patients.   And it did work a bit better: 

Those treated with carboplatin had a somewhat higher pathologically complete response—43.1 percent of those with carboplatin versus 36.9 percent of those without.

For my money, that is not much of an advantage when you look at this heady chemical mix: carboplatin added to paclitaxel plus Adriamycin, plus Avastin—in weekly doses. 

Note that:

•  Avastin is no longer approved for  breast cancer in the U.S., so this treatment is not an option here

• 40 percent of the patients on this protocol  had at least one serious adverse effect.   
Diarrhea was the most common.

• The typical chemo treatment for TNBC in the U.S. is in two-week intervals.  Weekly chemo seems especially harsh, giving the body little time to recuperate. 

Read the full story on ASCO Post.

Biological pathway offers less-toxic treatment potential for some cases of TNBC

The OGF-OGFr axis, a novel biological pathway, can be modulated in human triple-negative breast cancer cells to inhibit proliferation, according to research in the June 2013 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine. 

Exposure of human breast cancer cell lines to OGF in lab tests repressed growth within 24 hours. (That's fast, folks.) Treatment with low dosages of the opioid antagonist naltrexone (LDN) boosted OGF with minimal or no side effects, with potentially stronger effects than paclitaxel.

"What is exciting about our findings," said Ian S. Zagon, M.D., senior author and Distinguished University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, "is that women with triple-negative breast cancer have few options because their tumors lack the necessary hormonal receptors. [Pat's note:  I would say "different options" rather than "fewer."]

Data from these studies open new doors for treatment of this population of women." Moreover, the OGF-OGFr axis is present in all types of breast cancer cells suggesting that this pathway provides additional avenues for treatment of this commonly diagnosed cancer.