Breast Cancer Clinical Trials

You can take part in a clinical trial to try new breast cancer treatments

Breast cancer clinical trials help us test new drugs. We're still learning a lot about cancer and how it's triggered, what makes it grow, and how to best treat it. In order to do this, one of the research steps when making new treatments is called a clinical trial.

Breast cancer clinical trials are going on almost all the time. Your doctor may be able to get you treatments from one. This can get you signed up for a breast cancer study to test new drugs. However, this depends on what trials are being run and what stage of breast cancer you have. Being a test subject sounds a little scary. But you're always a volunteer when it comes to a clinical trial. You can drop out of the trial at any time. And if you find your cancer isn't responding to typical treatments, trying new treatments in clinical trials can help you find what works. It's a win-win situation for many people. Don't let the word "trial" scare you away.

"It's a win-win situation for many people. Don't let the word "trial" scare you away." Breast cancer clinical trials cover several stages of the disease. We're going to focus on treatments as breast cancer studies. Particularly, those covering new breast cancer drugs. Not all 'new' breast cancer drugs are new drugs on the market. Some are drugs already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for other uses, and are now being studied for the treatment of breast cancer.

Some of the ongoing breast cancer clinical studies include the following drugs:

Zoledronic Acid Studies.

There's a drug called zoledronic acid that's used to treat breast cancer cells that have migrated to the bones. It's a bone cancer treatment drug that's having its impact on bone breakage studied. The study is designed to see if the drug prevents bone breakage while the cancer treatment is in effect. If it's effective, doctors will try and find the correct amounts for treatment and dosage.

Drug Combination Study with Trastuzumab.

This is a clinical study that's looking to combine a drug being tested with another breast cancer drug called Trastuzumab. So far, this is only for cancers with estrogen receptors. This drug is not directly approved for sale by the FDA.

Radiation Therapy Trials.

These trials compare how different breast cancer drugs work when used in early breast cancer treatment. They're mostly comparing a category of drugs called taxanes (which are the 'standard' treatments now) with newer drugs called aromatase inhibitors.

Early Cancer Treatment Trials.

This is a clinical study that's looking to combine a drug being tested with another breast cancer drug called Trastuzumab. So far, this is only for cancers with estrogen receptors. This drug is not directly approved for sale by the FDA.

They're also being run along with hormone therapy, such as those that block estrogen receptors. Also, they're used with other factors, like radiation therapy, to see which combination of treatments gives the best results.

Nanomaterials Trials.

These are trials to both find materials that breast cancer tissue will take up instead of surrounding tissues. These materials can be later activated to kill off cancer cells. The first part of this type of trial tries to find better ways to deliver drugs. More direct therapies will be possible if drugs can include compounds breast cancer tissues will pick up faster than the surrounding tissues.

These should also have fewer side effects, since the drugs will be able to treat cancer without disturbing too many normal cells in the body. There's an entire field of science looking at those materials on the cellular level. The ability to put something that only affects tumor cells is a major goal right now, and it's just moving into clinical trials.