Researchers say a new drug targeting a specific gene in people with advanced breast cancer has shown hopeful results since being put under the microscope at Scottsdale Healthcare’s Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center. In an early Phase 1 study of the drug, focusing on the gene P13K, which is abnormal in 20 to 30 percent of advanced breast cancer patients, two of 97 individuals initially tested experienced significant shrinkage of tumors, according to hospital officials. The cancer-related gene, if abnormal, could spur bodily signals that lead to cancer’s growth. GDC-0941 was the drug under investigation. “If a patient has a tumor in the lungs, then it’s causing their difficulty breathing. If the tumor is pushing up against other organs, it could be causing pain,” said Dr. Glen Weiss, director of thoracic oncology at Scottsdale Healthcare. “Shrinking that (tumor) could relieve that system.”
