Giving women with early breast cancer a drug called gefitinib (Iressa®) before surgery could reduce the size of their tumours, suggests a randomised trial published online today (Tuesday May 17, 2005) by The Lancet Oncology. Gefitinib has been tested in clinical trials as a treatment for lung cancer but did not help patients live longer overall. Large-scale studies to assess its use in breast cancer, as a treatment prior to surgery, are now being designed, state the authors.
