Gene test might benefit women with hard-to-treat breast cancer

Aggressive breast cancers carrying a faulty BRCA gene responded better to a certain type of chemotherapy than standard treatment, according to a clinical trial. The study, funded by Cancer Research UK and Breast Cancer Now, showed that triple negative breast cancers carrying the gene fault were twice as likely to respond to the drug carboplatin (Paraplatin) than docetaxel (Taxotere). Testing for a faulty BRCA gene is not routine for women with this type of breast cancer. Professor Andrew Tutt, from The Institute of Cancer Research, London (ICR) who led the research, said the study strongly suggests that women with triple-negative breast cancer should