Scientists Test New Drug Combo Against Breast Cancer

The American Cancer Society estimates 192,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year with more than 40,000 individuals dying from the disease. In New Jersey alone 6,400 new cases are expected with 1,400 deaths. In an effort to combat such statistics, researchers at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) have opened a clinical trial, which will evaluate a new drug combination for patients with breast cancer who are set to undergo surgery to remove the tumor. At focus is the process of stopping angiogenesis (blood vessel growth), which is necessary for cancer tumors to grow and spread. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

CINJ is one of the participating centers in the United States and Canada conducting the study, which is sponsored by the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project Foundation Research Program. This trial will look at the effects of an investigational drug called pazopanib when given with chemotherapy before surgery and when given without chemotherapy after surgery. Pazopanib, which does not yet have the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, possibly blocks new blood vessel growth in cancer tumors and also targets and halts certain proteins that help cancer cells grow.

Antoinette R. Tan, MD, a medical oncologist at CINJ and assistant professor of medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, is the national study chair for the trial and the lead investigator of the study at CINJ. She notes, “In adding pazopanib to the standard of care, this new combination may improve our ability to reduce the size of breast cancer tumors. By targeting blood vessel growth in particular, we can cut off a key lifeline that enables tumors to grow and spread.”

Before taking part in the trial, interested participants will undergo various examinations including a general physical and routine blood and urine tests. Selected patients will receive pazopanib with chemotherapy prior to breast surgery and will receive pazopanib by itself after surgery. Pazopanib is taken by mouth, while chemotherapy is given through a vein. Patients will keep a medication diary and continue with standard testing such as blood work and physical exams throughout their participation in the trial, which is expected to be about two years. Some 100 participants total are being sought from all sites

Women at or over age 18, who have breast cancer and have not yet undergone surgery to remove the tumor are eligible to take part in the trial, although other criteria must be met. For more information on how to take part, individuals should call CINJ’s Office of Human Research Services at 732-235-8675.

Clinical trials, often called cancer research studies, test new treatments and new ways of using existing treatments for cancer. At CINJ, researchers use these studies to answer questions about how a treatment affects the human body and to make sure it is safe and effective. There are several types of clinical trials currently underway at CINJ, including those that diagnose, treat, prevent, and manage symptoms of cancer. Many treatments used today, whether drugs or vaccines; ways to do surgery or give radiation therapy; or combinations of treatments, are the results of past clinical trials.