for those running out of options--sutent promising

[Lani]

Drug Fights Cancer And Tumors
Nov. 29 - When breast cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it can be deadly. But now a new drug that seems to be able to stop advanced breast cancer from progressing and even reduces the size of tumors.


About 10 years ago, Karen Pike got the news. The mother of two had breast cancer.
Karen Pike, Breast cancer survivor: "I don't have any history in my family, so at 37, it was pretty scary. Our kids are 5 and 7, and I just went numb."

Karen's faith - and family - helped her stay strong. She needed the strength when the cancer came back three more times.


Karen Pike: "I couldn't have done any of this without my family. I know that I couldn't."

Karen has also relied on a team of doctors - and is now part of a clinical trial on a drug called sutent. In a study, the pill shrank tumors by one-third or more in 15 percent of patients - significant because they had very advanced disease and didn't have any luck with other treatments.

Doctor George Sledge says Sutent could be used as a frontline treatment for breast cancer that has spread.

George Sledge, M.D., Oncologist: "This holds out so much promise that I think if you are a physician dealing with breast cancer research you can only be excited about this."

Karen's only been on the drug for a month, but the lump in her neck has already drastically gone down in size - keeping her optimistic for the future.

Karen Pike: "Seeing both of my kids graduate from college, get married, have children, live a long life and be healthy for the rest of my life."

A simple dream she hopes will come true.

Sutent is an interesting drug. It has also shown promise in treating gastrointestinal and kidney tumors when other treatments start to fail. Right now, right now, it's just under investigation but could become FDA approved for certain cancers in the next year.

Researchers say, this drug is part of an entirely new class of agents and is working through mechanisms that haven't been used before.


Copyright 2006, ABC7/KGO-TV/DT.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Patient Referral
Indiana University School of Medicine
(888) 660-IUCC