Contraceptive Drug Plus Chemo

macygrace

I was recently at the University of Chicago Hospital and grabbed their news paper. I went on their website and did not see this trial. Perhaps it's just a small trial for patients there.

May this bring a little hope to some and brighten their day.  

Here's the important parts from the article:

Dr. Conzen observed that the stress hormone cortisol activates the glucocorticoid receptor pathway in chemo resistant breast tumor cells.

After reviewing other studies, Conzen found that the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) was overxpressed in 40% of breast cancers. This led her to theorize that GR activates a tumor cell survival pathway, making it resistant to chemo. To test this theory, her and her partner designed a trial for triple negative patients with advanced breast cancer.

Mifepristone is an FDA approved medication used for emergency contraception. It is also a powerful blocker of GR activity. The goal of the study i to see if combining mifepristone with standard chemo can improve outcomes for patients with advanced breast cancer.

Phase I trial is to determine the appropriate dose of mifepristone to combine with the chemo drug Abraxane.

To date 8 people have joined the study.