New discovery in breast cancer treatment (Simple treatment shift greatly helps even metastatic breast cancer)

Medical XPress / University of Adelaide / Nature Medicine ^ | Jan 18, 2021 | Professor Wayne Tilley, Associate Professor Theresa Hickey, et al

[ConservativeMind]

Researchers have found new evidence about the positive role of androgens in breast cancer treatment with immediate implications for women with estrogen receptor-driven metastatic disease.

In normal breast development, estrogen stimulates and androgen inhibits growth at puberty and throughout adult life. Abnormal estrogen activity is responsible for the majority of breast cancers, but the role of androgen activity in this disease has been controversial.

Androgens were historically used to treat breast cancer, but knowledge of hormone receptors in breast tissue was rudimentary at the time and the treatment's efficacy misunderstood. Androgen therapy was discontinued due to virilising side effects and the advent of anti-estrogenic endocrine therapies.

While endocrine therapy is standard-of-care for estrogen receptor positive breast cancer, resistance to these drugs are the major cause of breast cancer mortality.

However, previous studies had produced conflicting evidence on how best to therapeutically target the androgen receptor for treatment of breast cancer, which caused widespread confusion and hampered clinical application.

A global team demonstrated that androgen receptor activation by natural androgen or a new androgenic drug had potent anti-tumour activity in all estrogen receptor positive breast cancers, even those resistant to current standard-of-care treatments. In contrast, androgen receptor inhibitors had no effect.

"This work has immediate implications for women with metastatic estrogen receptor positive breast cancer, including those resistant to current forms of endocrine therapy,'' said Associate Professor Theresa Hickey.

Professor Tilley added: "We provide compelling new experimental evidence that androgen receptor stimulating drugs can be more effective than existing (e.g. Tamoxifen) or new (e.g. Palbociclib) standard-of-care treatments and, in the case of the latter, can be combined to enhance growth inhibition.

Moreover, currently available selective androgen receptor activating agents lack the undesirable side effects of natural androgens, and can confer benefits in women including promotion of bone, muscle and mental health.

[ConservativeMind]

Enobosarm was the drug/“supplement” used for this study.

There’s not much hope for metastatic breast cancer, so this will definitely change treatment. Ask your doctor for the combination drug and look for another doctor, if needed.

What’s the worst that can happen? Metastatic breast cancer already has virtually no viable treatment.

[Dacula]

Too late to save my wife and mother-in-law. Both died of HER2 protein breast cancer.

[ConservativeMind]

A little more, here:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-03/tes-ars032620.php

A list of some similar drugs:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_androgen_receptor_modulator

It appears a sister substance, “Ligandrol,” is available for medical testing from select places on the Internet.

[Red6]

Sad to hear.

My mother died 9 months ago from pancreatic cancer.

I think most people can point to someone in their circle of friends or family that is either suffering or has died form this disease.

[shanover]

I think of my Mother everyday who died of this evil.

[kelly4c]

Very sorry for your loss :(

[hsmomx3]

So sorry for your losses.

[sauropod]

Bkmk

[kalee]

I lost my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, an aunt, and two cousins to estrogen linked cancers. I pray for a cure.

[JohnnyP]

Mine too. She died eight months ago.