A drug effective in treating breast cancer shows new promise in addressing breast cancer with brain metastases or recurrent glioblastoma, as reported by results of a prospective window-of-opportunity trial at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio). The window trial, in which patients agreed to receive a novel treatment before undergoing surgery, found that the drug Sacituzumab Govitecan was well-tolerated and showed signs of effectiveness for those whose breast cancer had progressed to brain tumors. About half of all women with the aggressive and advanced triple-negative form of breast cancer will be diagnosed with brain metastases, and the prognosis is poor, with a median overall survival of just more than seven months.
We knew that the drug has been effective in the treatment of breast cancer, but its usefulness in treatment of resulting brain tumors has been unclear. Our trial, however, revealed that it could achieve concentrations of inhibitors inside the tumors sufficient to benefit patients, and with minimal side effects, which is very promising for new therapy." Andrew J.
Brenner, MD, PhD, professor and chair of neuro-oncology research with Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio Brenner, who also is clinical investigator for the Institute for Drug Development at UT Health San Antonio and co-leader of its Experimental and Development Therapeutics Program, is lead author of the trial's study published Aug. 7 in Nature Co.