Wendy's cancer might be incurable, but she just wants to help future patients
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here When Wendy Clift went for a routine breast scan in 2007, she got call from her doctors almost immediately. "The news wasn't good," the widowed grandmother of two from Scone in regional NSW told 9news.com.au. Wendy Clift was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007. (Supplied) Just days later, she had a mastectomy, followed by more treatment. While it was successful in keeping her in remission for a few years, the cancer has now returned and it has spread. However, Clift, now 72, was invited to be part of a new Australian drug trial. It's hoped it could help patients with a certain kind of breast cancer live longer. The DIAmOND clinical trial showed adding dual immunotherapy to existing treatments could be promising for some patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer. Clift said her cancer appears to be "pretty stable" after the trial earlier this year, which she did at Lake Macquarie Private Hospital. Some of the cancerous lumps she had have even disappeared, though she doesn't know if that's due to the new drug combination. Clift said she didn't have side effects. She said taking part in the trial was less about her and more to help future patients. "I'm just prepared because whatever happens to me is neither here nor there, but hopefully in years to come it'll help somebody else," she said. Immunotherapy is a treatment that uses a person's immune system to treat certain cancers. Wendy Clift, pictured with son Joshua and grandchildren Florence and Arthur, says she just wants to help future cancer patients. (Supplied) The other drug used alongside this in the trial was trastuzumab, commonly known as Herceptin. The trial aimed to see if combining the two could prolong the amount of time cancer was under control in patients with advanced disease which had become resistant to trastuzumab. Results differed depending on the kind of cancer each of the 68 trial patients had. Some had a response rate of up to 63 per cent, while for other kinds it was 27 per cent. Some patients saw their cancer controlled for more than two years. The combination of drugs has been given previously to people with lung cancer. Professor Sherene Loi developed and led the trial, which was conducted by the research organisation Breast Cancer Trials. "These promising results suggest combining new immunotherapy treatments with trastuzumab may offer a new treatment option for patients with treatment-resistant HER2-positive breast cancer," Loi said. "These findings provide a compelling case for further exploration and how we can best integrate this treatment combination into clinical practice." HER2-positive breast cancer is a type of breast cancer that tests positive for a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). However, it often responds well to specific treatments. Around 15-20 per cent of all types of breast cancers are HER2-positive. It is more common in younger, pre-menopausal women. cancer
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The results of the trials, involving 500 adults with type 2 diabetes, were unveiled at the American Diabetes Association annual meeting in Chicago over the weekend. Reported side effects were similar to existing medications like gastrointestinal issues, while the drug company did not flag any unexpected safety concerns. The trial focused on diabetes treatment and not specifically weight loss. Other oral diabetes medications already exist but this medication is significant as it's the first synthetic treatment to reach phase three trials, Prof Andrikopoulos said. He expected approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration would be "reasonable straightforward" once it receives an application by drug developer Eli Lilly, which also makes Mounjaro. The synthetic chemical is easier to make than other drugs involving modified peptides and doesn't need to be refrigerated, hoping it would be cheaper and easier to transport to remote areas than injectable treatments. 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Prof Wu said looking at past performance, the TGA would probably take between 12 and 24 months to approve the new drug. Game-changing diabetes pills could hit Australian shelves within years, offering an alternative to popular injectable treatments like Ozempic that have been plagued with supply issues. That's the prediction from Australian diabetes experts, as the first phase three clinical trial data was released for a new type of medicine that lowers blood sugar. Once-a-day pill Orforglipron was shown to imitate a naturally occurring hormone that helps regulate blood sugar and appetite, according to the study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. "It's really, really exciting," Australian Diabetes Society chief executive Associate Professor Sof Andrikopoulos told AAP. "The reduction in blood glucose and weight with Orforglipron is similar, if not a little bit better, than the similar clinical trials that were done for Ozempic and Mounjaro." 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"These are potentially disease modifying therapies, and in that respect it's a game-changer," Prof Andrikopoulos said. "In terms of managing types of diabetes and obesity, I think we are at the cusp of being able to make a significant impact on reducing obesity in Australia and around the world." Sydney-based Endocrinologist Associate Professor Ted Wu treats many patients with diabetes and said physicians had been "crying out" for oral alternatives to incretin injections. While optimistic about the findings, he cautioned it was not a "head to head" trial measuring the effectiveness of Orforglipron against injections but said it appears the results were very similar. "As it stands, this looks like it offers all the advantages of the current incretin injections, but with all the advantages of an oral once-a-day medication and hopefully with far fewer supply issues," he said. Prof Wu said looking at past performance, the TGA would probably take between 12 and 24 months to approve the new drug.
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