breast cancer patient (Photo : Reuters)
A pair of separate studies has discovered that a combination of two types of inexpensive generic drugs is effective in reducing death rates among breast cancer patients. Post-menopausal women with an early stage of the disease experienced lower fatality risks when they took two classes of medications.
The two drugs are grouped into two different classes. Referred to as bisphosphonates and aromatase inhibitors, using the pair of drugs simultaneously could boost the benefits and reduce some side effects that can include hot flashes; joint, muscle, and chest pain; shortness of breath; and depression.
Findings of the drug trials were reported by a collaborative group of the University of Oxford (England). It collects data on drug trials for early breast cancer.
Postmenopausal women with breast cancer who took aromatase inhibitors for 5 years lowered their risk of dying by 40 percent within a decade of beginning the treatment, according to Tech Times. That compared with those taking no hormonal treatment.
Paul Workman of London's Institute of Cancer Research stated that while studies on aromatase inhibitors have been conducted for a decade, the recent study evaluated the ton of data and focused on how an existing drug can benefit patients. Usually new treatments make the headlines.
A second study examined bisphosphonates. While doctors usually prescribe them for osteoporosis, they can also lower postmenopausal women's risk of breast cancer.
Breast cancers most frequently spread to the victim's bones. Bisphosphonates make the environment less friendly for cancer cells, thus lowering the risk of them returning.
The study's findings imply that bisphosphonate treatment in postmenopausal women could lower the risk of future cancer by 28 percent, and death rates by 18 percent. That is during the first decade after the diagnosis.
Generic drugs are usually developed long after the patents of their designer versions have expired, and sometimes are less effective, according to Pioneer News. Thus, the studies' results are quite uncommon.
Richard Gray of the University of Oxford was the studies' lead statistician. He shared that the two studies provide solid evidence that the two cheap generic drugs could reduce the mortality rates of postmenopausal women with breast cancer.
