Targeted Therapy brings new hope for advanced breast cancer patients

Did you know that Filipino women face the highest risk of breast cancer in Asia? Despite numerous efforts to raise awareness for the disease, the Philippines is still ranked first in breast cancer incidence in Asia and has a higher prevalence rate than those in several Western countries, including Spain, Italy, and most Eastern European countries. This life-threatening disease is also affecting younger women in Asia compared to the United States and Europe. According to the Philippine Cancer Society Inc., an estimated 14,043 new cases will be diagnosed this year, which will claim the lives of nearly 6357 women in the country.

Generally, the disease is still being diagnosed late in its course, affecting the survival rate of women with breast cancer in the Philippines, which is currently below 50%. Thousands of Filipino women are robbed of the chance to experience and enjoy life with their families because of this. Globally, advanced breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women, claiming more than 400,000 lives each year. The median survival time for women treated for metastatic or stage 4 breast cancer is two years.

Women who have been diagnosed with this terrible disease can find hope in a number of treatment methods that have been found to cure breast cancer, limit the spread of the disease and provide relief of symptoms. These treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy, mastectomy, radiotherapy and hormonal therapy.

Even those with metastatic cancer are given hope with new treatments being discovered that gives them more time than ever before. One such treatment method is targeted therapy. Because these therapies are more specific than conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy, they are intended to have less effect on normal cells, which may reduce the chance of side effects commonly caused by current cancer treatments and more importantly, can potentially improve patient survival.

One such treatment targets breast cancer cells through a protein called ErbB2. ErbB2 may be found in greater amounts or has greater activity in certain cells, resulting in these cells developing into tumors. Targeted treatment for ErbB2 inhibits the overexpression of these proteins so the tumor cells are no longer able to grow. For patients with locally advanced ErbB2 positive breast cancer, delaying the progression of the disease is an important treatment goal and can make all the difference.

While breast cancer remains one of the top killers of women all over the world, advances in medicine and technology are helping more patients cope with it better. Breast cancer patients are advised to consult their doctors for the treatment option that is most suitable for their needs and condition. With vigilance, support from loved ones and the appropriate medical treatment, more patients with breast cancer can look forward to having a fighting chance against the disease and the hope that they can eventually conquer it.

This information on breast cancer is brought to you by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). GSK is committed to developing innovative medicines for the treatment of debilitating diseases including metastatic breast cancer in line with its mission of improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.