Hi!

Can anyone weigh in on the results of today's RxPonder results? I was diagnosed in 2018 premenopausal 1/4 positive nodes and a low Oncotype of 9. I sought out 3 MO opinions and they all said chemo would have little to no benefit to me so I skipped it. The results from this study seem pretty clear that was a terrible decision as the premenopausal group that received chemo plus ET had a 46%!! reduction in metastatic reoccurrence compared to the arm that did ET only. Ugh.

The doctors discussing it were really leaning toward chemo not being of benefit pre or post if 1-3 nodes . They think the difference is mostly due to younger women being thrown into menopause due to chemo so the perceived benefit is more due to the sudden menopause vrs the chemo itself

With a score of 9 the endocrine therapy is what you need -Take heart!

Thank you all very much! I feel better now that I understand it better. The ovarian suppression benefit as a result of chemo vs. a large benefit from the chemo itself make a lot of sense.

MOTH

Sad report. I don’t even have to read the report to believe that. Those figures pan out in clinical trial reports and even the latest news drugs. Why do they spend so much money on a drug that only gets us OSR of about 3 months (median)

Because of the hope you are one of the few on the outlying edge of the numbers like my sister. She started on opdivo for NSCLC when it first came out and has survived with stable disease for 5 years and going strong.

If they don’t keep trying, they won’t find the right one! I’m thankful for the effort and hope the next breakthrough is the one!

Dee

Moth,

Do you have another link for that article? I can't get it to load -- I just get the spinning wheel. Or do you have an exact title so we can find it ourselves?

Thanks

Thanks. That one worked for me and I was able to blow it up a bit from twitter.

Posted this on an exercise thread but I think it's worth posting here too.

Physical activity of any intensity, whether folding laundry or jogging, can lower the risk of an early death for middle-aged and older people, a new study suggests. Furthermore, the time of day you move your body could affect risk further.
Researchers analyzed data from 2,795 participants. They identified a group of 781 women with breast
cancer and 865 female controls, and a group of 504 men with prostate cancer and 645 male controls. Both groups responded to a questionnaire relating to their physical activities and gave data on the timing and frequency of their exercises.
The study found that exercising in the morning, between 8-10 a.m., showed the highest benefit in reducing the risk of both breast and prostate cancers. Researchers also found that men who exercised between the hours of 7 and 10 p.m. had a 25 percent lower risk of developing prostate cancer. No benefits from evening activity were seen in the group of women.
"Overall our findings indicate that time of the day of physical activity is an important aspect of physical activity that may potentiate the protective effect of physical activity on cancer risk," the researchers wrote. "The effect of timing of physical activity on cancer risk should be examined in future research with a more detailed assessment of activity patterns, also including occupational activity."

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijc.33310

Interesting BlueGIrl.

Alpha-TEA [in phase 1 trial] strikes down advanced breast cancer?

..."The patients with HER2 driven or positive breast cancer, they actually start losing these T-cells and so they lose that immunologic response," explained William Gwin, MD, an assistant professor at University of Washington School of Medicine and breast cancer specialist at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

But now a phase one clinical trial is underway with advanced HER2 positive breast cancer patients for the oral therapy alpha-TEA in combination with the antibody-drug Herceptin. Alpha-TEA works by activating T-cells.

"We can boost those and drive those T-cells that target HER2 and sort of restore that immune response against HER2," elaborated Dr. Gwin.

Attacking cancer cells but leaving the normal cells alone.

"It does seem to have similar effects to chemotherapy, but really without the side effects," Dr. Gwin shared.

https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2020/12/15/best-life-alpha-tea-strikes-down-advanced-breast-cancer/

Found it: https://ascopubs.org/doi/abs/10.1200/JCO.2020.38.15_suppl.TPS1103 Saulius

HER2 people, FDA approves Margetuximab!

https://www.onclive.com/view/fda-approves-margetux...

Debbew, I tried to look if one can buy alpha-TEA:) No luck - probably a serious agent, although well known for at least a decade. Actually my motivation is based on assumption that this is something "promising", as they never had clinical trials with alpha-TEA in BC patients, and now start directly with ABC (well, there's evidence in dishes with cell lines). And it is strange this substance is not widely out there, as it is a derivative of vitE. I surely can find folks who could synthesize it here in labs:)) but it would be idiotic to use it without quality control. Trastuzumab resistance is real and it would be so cool to overcome it with this "simple" compound...

Saulius

Systemic Therapy for Estrogen Receptor–Positive, HER2-Negative Breast Cancer.

Harold J. Burstein, M.D., Ph.D.

December 24, 2020

Some of the txt:

In recent years, the options for adjuvant endocrine treatment have broadened beyond tamoxifen. Aromatase inhibitors block the conversion of androgens into estrogens (Figure 1), suppressing residual estrogen levels by more than 90% in postmenopausal women. These agents are contraindicated in premenopausal women who are not undergoing ovarian suppression, because compensatory physiological responses induce ovarian estrogen production. Aromatase inhibitor therapy results in a greater reduction in the risk of recurrence than 5 years of tamoxifen, such that most postmenopausal women should consider aromatase inhibitor treatment either as initial therapy or after 2 to 3 years of tamoxifen. For women presenting with stage I or IIA cancers — the most common stage at diagnosis in countries where screening mammography is routine — the numerical advantage of aromatase inhibitor–based treatment over tamoxifen alone is modest: a 3% reduction in recurrence and a 2% reduction in mortality at 10 years. Aromatase inhibitors are of more value in the treatment of higher-risk cancers (according to stage or biologic features) because of the underlying prognosis39 and in the treatment of lobular cancers. Extending the duration of treatment from 5 to 10 years with either tamoxifen41 or aromatase inhibitors reduces the risk of recurrence, as compared with just 5 years of treatment. Patients at increased risk for a late recurrence because of nodal status or adverse biologic features of the tumor probably derive the greatest benefit from extended therapy; however, extended aromatase inhibitor treatment in years 8 through 10 is likely to confer a modest benefit, at most. The decision to extend therapy should incorporate the patient's preferences, informed by the estimated risk of recurrence beyond year 5, and the toxic effects of therapy to date (Figures 3 and Figure 4).

Cleveland Clinic [triple negative] Breast Cancer Vaccine Goes To Clinical Trials

The shot protects against alpha-lactalbumin, a protein in women's mammary glands that no longer appears after childbearing years but shows up in many cases of triple negative breast cancer, [Dr. Vincent Tuohy, a cancer researcher at the clinic who invented the vaccine] said.

The idea behind taking this vaccine is the body's immune response would destroy cancer cells before they develop and mature, Tuohy said...

In animal trials, the vaccine was shown to be very effective, Tuohy added...

If the trials are successful, Tuohy said he hopes people could eventually get the vaccine as part of their normal preventative care.

\https://www.ideastream.org/news/cleveland-clinic-b...

I have stage one and had a lumpectomy and just finished radiation. Does anyone know The name of the blood test that shows how many circulating tumor cells are in a persons blood? And is it possible to get that number down to 0? And if it gets down to 0 can aperson stop taking whatever inhibitor they are taking? Just wondering if anybody has had experience with this. Thank you.