Cancer has claimed millions of lives all over the world but we still, unfortunately, don’t know enough about it and therefore, even a slight emergence of a potential cure of cancer is always brilliant news. Recently scientists in Amsterdam have come up with some huge news concerning breast cancer. Breast cancer is fairly common affliction that many-at least 2 in 16 American women fall prey to-leaving them and people around them helpless. A particular study conducted by European scientists might have found a way to say goodbye to it once and for all, to the relief of humankind. BREAST CANCER BREAKTHROUGH The research has been presented by Professor Nigel Bundred and centres on two drugs, Herceptin and Lapatinib working together. These aren’t new drugs in regard to breast cancer treatment but what is new is how they have been used in this research. These drugs are generally used separately but this research used both the drugs together, as they were combined and were put to use before surgery and chemo, which led to the successful elimination of certain types of breast cancer in a matter of just 11 days. The amalgamated drugs fight a particular protein called HER2, which causes the growth and spread of cancerous cells. The most attractive feature of this particular treatment is that it comes with the elimination of treatment procedures like chemo and surgery, both of which are way more complicated than traditional medicine taking. RESULTS About 300 women with the HER2 protein were selected for the study and about 130 of them were assigned to one of three groups- one on Herceptin, one on Lapatinib and the last group was off any medication before surgery (control group) and it turned out that 7 out of every 66 in the group that was given a combination of both were free of cancerous cells after 11 day of treatment. About 11 more women had considerably shrunken tumours. The control group that was put on medication after the surgery, that too of only one kind, barely showed little or no improvement whatsoever. There was a bit of a problem when it came to taking action immediately after the above experiment, because Herceptin used to be licensed not to be used individually but as an addition to chemo or recovery after surgery. This problem was done away with soon enough, as it has come to be re-licensed to be used on its own even if chemotherapy is not being used on the patient at that particular time. This research is a major breakthrough as it has come up with an effective way to eliminate one of the deadliest diseases that humankind can fall prey to. It is a major step forward towards a healthier and stronger world and it opens new doors, providing better and more concrete grounds for further research in this arena that may finally lead us to a cancer free time. Source
