Watch: What innovative treatments are available for metastatic breast cancer?

Innovative treatments have recently been added for patients with metastatic HER2 metastatic cancer, which reach the tumor directly without damaging nearby cells.

What new group of patients has been discovered and will there be a cure for cancer in the future?

Dr. Noa Efrat Ben Baruch, former director of the oncology department at Kaplan Medical Center, explains

In collaboration with AstraZenica

19/07/2022

Tuesday, 19 July 2022, 07:51 Updated: 16:30

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Iris Cole (Walla Studio)

Breast cancer is most common in women, and although most women are diagnosed early, there is a group of patients who are diagnosed at the metastatic stage, or whose disease recurs in a diffuse manner.

In recent years, innovative treatments have been added to patients with HER2 metastatic breast cancer, which reach the tumor directly without damaging nearby cells.

So will metastatic breast cancer become a chronic disease in the future?

What are the significant developments in the treatment of the disease?

And what new group of sands was recently discovered?

Dr. Noa Efrat Ben Baruch, senior oncologist and former director of the oncology department at Kaplan Medical Center, with all the explanations.

"About 5,000 women are diagnosed each year" (Photo: ShutterStock)

What is the prevalence of breast cancer?

"About 5,000 women are diagnosed each year. This is the most common cancer in Israel, even though it affects about half of the population - the female population."

"First and foremost metastatic breast cancer is actually cancer that is found in the breast or lymph nodes but there are metastases outside the breast and glands such as bones, lungs, liver or brain. This means that the cancer has spread to the body. About 3-4 percent of women who first see a doctor are diagnosed with metastatic blue. In addition, some women are diagnosed with early breast cancer and even though they have been treated, their disease recurs and they develop metastatic breast cancer. In total, about 25 percent of all women with breast cancer are metastatic.

"When someone comes in with a lump in the breast, they send her for a biopsy and imaging tests and in some cases they will do surgery from the beginning.

"Breast cancer is not leukemia, where treatment is started immediately. All cancers are treated intelligently. Only in rare cases should treatment be started from day to day. A biopsy should be done and see the characteristics of the tumor because the treatment is determined by the characteristics of the tumor. To give the best care to that patient. "

"To date, we have divided breast cancer into three types: the first is hormonal breast cancer and is the most common type. About 70% of patients will be diagnosed with this type of disease and patients will receive treatment with anti-hormonal drugs. The second is patients with overexpression of a protein called HER2. A protein found on the cell membrane that makes breast cancer much more malignant and much less sensitive to treatment. In this case, chemotherapy is less effective for this group of patients. The third is triple-negative cancer Chemical treatment".

"In the past, type 2 HER patients did not have enough good treatments and there was more mortality of women with this type of metastatic disease. Before 20 there was a revolution and thanks to antibody treatment the disease became a kind of 'chronic disease'. The tumor along with chemotherapy and antibodies.

A few years ago an advanced generation of drugs for metastatic patients of the HER2 type called 'chemotherapy-linked antibody' was developed, and today there is even an even newer and more advanced generation that acts as a 'target-guided missile'.

In fact the treatment contains chemotherapy and comes like a missile directly to the malignant cell that has the expression of HER2 on it.

The treatment enters the malignant cell and only there does the chemotherapy break down.

That is, chemotherapy only works on the cancer cells.

It's a real turnaround and there are fewer side effects. "

"It's not one disease, cancer is a lot of diseases" (Photo: ShutterStock)

Does HER2 have different expression levels?

"Yes. HER2 is tested on a pathological test. Look at the protein under the microscope and rate the level of expression - how strong this protein is on the cell membrane from 0 to 3. Grades 0,1 and 2 - are considered HER2 negative and grade 3 positive HER2. Today we only referred to 'negative' or 'positive'. Today we understand that there are different degrees and it is possible that cancers in which the expression of 2HER at level 1 and 2 has therapeutic significance. Findings that indicate that the same group of patients can be treated. "

"Yes. This is one of the biggest problems of cancer in general and breast cancer in particular. Usually women who respond well and for a long time do not develop resistance to treatments. If the treatment stops helping, it is usually at first. The cancer is very smart and develops indirect resistance pathways and resistance to various drugs."

"Cancer is not one disease, cancer is a lot of diseases. We have a group of treatments called 'immunotherapy' - these are treatments in which we teach the body's immune system to fight cancer. We give drugs that teach the body to recognize the cancer as a foreign body, and it's a real reversal. "Because these are drugs that work on a lot of tumors but less in breast cancer. But in principle every tumor is unique and special and it will be difficult to find just one drug."

"Yes, it is a regular treatment. Metastatic breast cancer can become a chronic disease that lasts for many years but unfortunately not in all cases. There are many new developments that help us with this but not always.

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