By Cindy Krischer Goodman
Miami Herald
From breakthrough research to new clinical trials in imaging, pharmaceuticals and high-tech therapies, women can now benefit from advancements that could improve the ability to detect or target various breast cancer types.
At the University of Miami, for example, myriad clinical trials are underway offering alternate approaches to fighting breast cancer.
In September, physicians at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at U-Health initiated two immunotherapy trials to boost the patient’s own immune system to fight breast cancer cells.
“We are in early phases of this study, but there are hints of some activity,” said Dr. Charles Vogel, a breast oncologist at Sylvester.
Another promising area examines individual mutations within breast cancers and designs treatments for those mutations (rather than for specific cancer types).
“That allows patients with breast cancer to receive a drug targeted against that mutation,” Vogel explained.
Beyond targeting mutations, Sylvester oncologists are enrolling patients in trials involving drugs that aim to shrink breast cancer tumors. These targeted therapies focus on drugs that zero in on gene changes that help cancer cells grow or spread.
At the same time, newer imaging methods for breast cancer detection are in the works. At Mount Sinai Medical Center’s Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center in Miami Beach, a clinical trial will soon begin that could lead to improved early detection through better imaging.
Radiologists plan to try an ultrasound machine, called SoftVue, to scan for breast cancer in women with dense breast tissue, who have a slightly higher risk for breast cancer.
During the ultrasound, a patient lies on her stomach with one breast immersed in warm water. The machine emits sound waves that circle 360 degrees around the breast to create 3D images that allow for easier detection of abnormalities that might be obscured by dense breast.
“There is a lot of promise to add information that we don’t currently get on mammograms or hand-held ultrasound,” said Dr. Stuart Kaplan, chief of breast imaging at Mount Sinai.
Until now, MRI has been the best single method for breast cancer screening, Kaplan said. But it is expensive, time consuming and used mostly for women at high risk.
“This would be a major breakthrough if we were able to find out more with an advanced ultrasound. We could end up using it for routine use,” he said.
Along with new imaging tests for breast cancer, therapies are also advancing.
At Miami Cancer Institute, physicians will soon offer a high-tech way to attack breast cancer. In 2017, a proton therapy center will open, giving cancer patients with left-sided tumors access to more precise form of radiation therapy.
In the past, women with these types of growths faced potential damage to their heart from radiation passing through healthy tissue and organs on their way in and out of the body.
With proton therapy, doctors administer radiation with precision to target only cancer cells. Proton therapy also creates less chance of a recurrence of cancer from excessive radiation exposure.
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