Immunotherapy Boosts Breast Cancer Cure Rates: Australian Breakthrough

Sydney, Jan 23 (IANS) Australian researchers have made a breakthrough in improving the cure rate for the most common form of breast cancer.

An international clinical trial led by Melbourne's Peter MacCallum Cancer Center (Peter Mac) has shown that adding the immunotherapy drug nivolumab to the chemotherapy that breast cancer patients receive before surgery can dramatically improve outcomes, according to the latest news release on Peter Mac's website.

The trial involved 510 people with ER+/HER2 -- a subtype of breast cancer, which accounts for about 70 per cent of all cases globally, who received chemotherapy to shrink their tumour before it was surgically removed, Xinhua news agency reported.

Researchers assessed how adding an infusion of nivolumab, or a placebo, during the pre-surgery phase affected their response to treatment.

They found that 25 per cent of trial participants treated with nivolumab achieved a pathologic complete response (pCR), which means there was no sign of cancer after surgery, compared to 14 per cent in the placebo group.

"These patients are considered to be likely cured because their tumor was removed and samples of breast and lymph node tissue collected at the same time also show no detectable cancer cells," said Sherene Loi, a medical oncologist from Peter Mac and leader of the trial.

Recently, Russia announced a groundbreaking development in cancer treatment with the creation of an mRNA-based vaccine designed to treat cancer patients.

This revolutionary vaccine, set to be launched in early 2025, will reportedly be distributed free of cost to Russian citizens.

The personalised vaccine, which uses genetic material derived from a patient’s tumour, will cost the state approximately 300,000 rubles ($2,869) per dose, state-run media reports revealed.

The announcement was made by Andrey Kaprin, head of the Radiology Medical Research Centre of the Ministry of Health.

"This vaccine aims to treat cancer patients rather than prevent tumour formation,” Kaprin stated.