A new breast cancer treatment, which may help those with an aggressive form of the disease, is to be trialled in Ireland for the first time, the Irish Cancer Society (ICS) has said.

A study by ICS-funded research scholar, Naomi Elster, tested the efficacy of a new type of cancer drug, copanlisib, which is used to treat HER2-positive breast cancer, a particularly aggressive form of the disease that can be resistant to current therapies.

Working under the guidance of Beaumont Hospital consultant oncologist, Prof Bryan Hennessy, and Dr Alex Eustace of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Ms Elster found that when used in combination with standard therapies, this new drug acts as a signal blocker in cancer cells, potentially stemming their growth.

This study, which was published in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, has paved the way for the drug to be tested in patients with advanced HER2 breast cancer when a clinical trial begins later this year.

This will mark the first time that this new treatment combination has been available to treatment-resistance breast cancer patients in this country.

"This ICS-funded research has, for the first time, shown that this combination of drugs offers greater benefit in halting the growth and spread of breast cancer cells, compared to each of the drugs alone. The fact that this drug is now going to clinical trial has the potential to really make a difference where it's needed - it is aimed at a group of patients that have less treatment options than others," Ms Elster commented.

The clinical trial will be led by Prof Hennessy, who described these findings as a ‘massive step forward', that will help save many lives.

The drug was developed by the pharmaceutical company, Bayer, which is now funding the clinical trial to ‘verify these encouraging results', Prof Hennessy explained.

The ICS highlighted this research to coincide with the launch of its annual Paint it Pink campaign, which aims to raise awareness about breast cancer throughout the month of October. For more information on how you can get involved with the campaign, click here