‘Trojan horse’ drug Trodelvy is a lifeline for breast cancer, landmark trial proves

Women with advanced breast cancer received a lifeline from a revolutionary treatment that could help them stay healthy longer.

The drug, named Trodelvy, was nicknamed the Trojan horse because it could penetrate tumors and deliver powerful chemotherapy agents that attack cancer cells from within.

The highly precise procedure prevents damage to healthy tissue, which means doctors can administer higher doses without exacerbating side effects.

Trodelvy has already been shown to be effective in patients with triple-negative breast cancer, a difficult-to-treat disease form that accounts for 15% of cases. In these women, the drug can double their chances of survival.

The results of a landmark study, announced yesterday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual conference in Chicago, show that Trodelvy is highly effective in women with one of the most common types known as HR-positive HER2-negative breast cancer. It is responsible for seven out of ten diagnoses.

This means that thousands more women will soon benefit from the drug administered via an intravenous drip every other week.

The patients in the study were in the advanced stages of the disease and did not respond to treatment. Patients who received Trodelvy saw a 34% reduction in their chance of dying or worsening within one year, compared to patients receiving conventional chemotherapy.

Dr. Jane Lowe Meisel, a cancer specialist at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, lauded the discovery. There is a serious unmet need in these patients who have had chemotherapy and have no other choice,” she said.

“If one of these patients goes into a clinic, you can give them a one in five chance of not making progress in a year with this drug. It’s huge.’

The findings rekindle hope that NHS publisher, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), will also give Trodelvy the green light.

There was disappointment in April when the watchdog rejected the drug, also called sacituzumab govitecan, because it was too expensive.

However, The Mail on Sunday learned that NICE will meet with US manufacturer Gilead on Tuesday to continue negotiations on a price of £200,000 per patient per year.

Trodelvy has already been shown to be effective in patients with triple-negative breast cancer, a difficult-to-treat disease form that accounts for 15% of cases. In these women, the drug can double their chances of survival. (Depending on models)

Trodelvy is part of a new generation of anticancer drugs known as antibody-drug conjugates. These use artificial antibodies similar to those produced naturally by the immune system and are designed to target a protein found in cancer cells. They carry loads of chemotherapy drugs that deliver directly to the tumor when they find their target.

“It’s not a cure, but it can extend patients’ lives by giving them more time with family and friends,” said Professor Nick Turner, a breast cancer specialist at the Institute for Cancer Research in London.

Experts believe these early results prove that Trodelvy can buy women precious months.

“Given the significant difference this drug makes in the rate of cancer progression, it is likely to extend patients’ lives as well, but we will have to wait for more data to say for sure,” said the gymnast professor.

The news comes when another antibody-drug conjugate, Enhertu or trastuzumab deruxtecan, is expected to offer hope for breast cancer patients.

Previous studies have shown it to be highly effective, reducing the risk of death in some patients by more than two-thirds. As with Trodelvy, new test data for Enhertu will show broader benefits.

“We’re seeing a lot of antibody-drug conjugates for breast cancer, and that’s great news,” said the professor. Parker. “Immunotherapy” [drugs which train the immune system to fight off cancer] There have been major cancer success stories over the past decade, but with limited results for breast cancer patients.

“This is why antibody-drug conjugates could play an important role in the years to come.

One patient who benefited from Trodelvy is Karen Corrigan, 42, from Nottingham, who was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in January 2018 after she found a lump in her left breast.

The singer went through chemotherapy and immunotherapy and was greenlit six times, but the cancer kept returning.

In January 2020, Karen had a mastectomy, but scans in April showed the cancer had returned and had spread to the liver and lungs. “The doctors told me there was nothing they could do at this point,” Karen says. “I’m a tough guy and I try to stay positive, but I knew I didn’t have much time.”

Patients at this stage are not expected to live more than one year.

However, Karen’s doctor was able to take her for a Trodelvy checkup, and Karen started taking it last month.

“When my doctor said I was going to take the medicine, I cried and cried because I knew it was the only thing that worked for patients like me. I feel so lucky to have this extra time with my family”.

Karen is now on vacation in Florida with her 14 best family and friends. But the drug has no side effects—she lost her hair while flying to the United States.

However, he says it’s manageable. “I don’t want to know how much time I have, so I want to keep living my life until my body tells me otherwise.”