New late-stage breast cancer treatment approved

[Forever Sunshine]

A drug that presents a new way to knock out cancer cells was approved Friday to treat patients with a certain type of late-stage metastatic breast cancer.

The drug, referred to as T-DM1 during clinical research, will now be known by the brand name Kadcyla, the Food and Drug Administration said in its approval announcement. It's a new therapy for women with HER2-positive breast cancer.

Kadcyla is a combination of the targeted drug trastuzumab -- better known by the brand name Herceptin -- and a powerful chemotherapy drug called DM1. It's designed to work when Herceptin alone can no longer keep cancer in check.

DM1 is too toxic to deliver directly into a patient's bloodstream, like other chemotherapy drugs. The Herceptin part of the new drug homes in on cancer cells, sparing other healthy cells, and delivers DM1 into the cell.

www.cnn.com/2013/02/22/health/breast-cancer-drug/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

[Spellbound454]

I just wish it could be cheaper.
We support cancer research, yet when a potential cure is found...the big chemical companies who hold the rights to manufacture make it so expensive that sufferers don't get access to the drugs.
Local authorities don't have the sometimes £30,000 per month to keep people alive.
Its like blackmailing someone at their most desperate hour.

I don't support cancer research anymore....I wanted cures that help ordinary people.......not that make fat cats even fatter.

[Forever Sunshine]

Unfortunately, Spell, it's the bottom line that matters to these people; not someone's health. We're told the cost of healthcare and drugs are high to raise money for R&D while these same companies show record profits which line their pockets. IMO, there's just no excuse for healthcare and pharmaceuticals to be so costly.