Less Toxic Drug Prolongs Survival In Metastatic Breast Cancer
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Research from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has found that a less toxic, solvent-free chemotherapy drug more effectively prevents the progression of metastatic breast cancer and has fewer side effects than a commonly used solvent-based drug.
A national study led by William Gradishar, MD, director of breast medical oncology at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, found that the drug Abraxane prolonged progression-free survival by almost seven months compared with Taxotere, which is part of a class of solvent-based drugs called taxanes.
“It nearly doubled progression-free survival,” said Dr. Gradishar, who also is a professor of medicine at Northwestern’s Feinberg School and a physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
The study will be published May 26 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
