Pfizer is so close to releasing into the market a new class of drug that will hopefully help in prolonging breast cancer remission or survival, especially those who are already in the advanced stages.
It's not a surprise that many men and women die of breast cancer each year. According to Breastcancer.org, around 40,000 women in the United States were predicted to die from one of the most common types of cancer in the world, although this number is smaller than the previous years, thanks to increased awareness, reduced dependency on hormone replacement therapy particularly for women who are already in menopause, breast cancer screening, and new methods of treatment.
While it's common knowledge that cancer happens due to certain mutations of the cell, how they develop into such remains a mystery. About 85% of breast cancer cases are non-hereditary.
To detect breast cancer early, women are advised to undergo a mammogram especially if they reach the age of around 45 to 50 years old. But for those who have already been diagnosed or may even be in the later stages, they may look forward to Ibrance.
Ibrance is the newest cancer drug from Pfizer. It is still waiting an approval from the Food and Drug Administration. However, it doesn't have to go through a panel review process in light with the recent move of the agency to make medicines more accessible to patients. In fact, the company is already working with the FDA closely as to how to write the inserts, which means it may not be long before this officially hits the market.
The drug, which has palbociclib as its generic name, will be an inhibitor of enzymes known as CDK4/6. These enzymes are said to be responsible for the uncontrollable division of cancer cells, which then speed up the progress of the disease.
Ibrance has also undergone a human trial study called PALOMA-1 where around 165 women with breast cancer participated. Those who took the new drug along with letrozole, an older type of cancer drug, did not experience progression for 20.2 months while women who took letrozole alone experienced progression within 10 months.
This drug is ideal for women whose breast cancer is caused by estrogen, not HER2.