Breast cancer drug shows promise in trials

A new breast cancer drug is showing promise.

Younger women suffering from a common form of advanced breast cancer have experienced significantly improved survival rates, when treated with a drug that targets cancer cells.

An international clinical trial study was conducted among 672 women under the age of 59, who received a drug called ‘Ribociclib,” in combination with a common form of hormone therapy.

70 percent of the women who took the combination therapy were alive after 42 months, according to the findings.

That’s compared to 46 percent for women were treated with only the hormone therapy and a placebo.

Researchers say the study is significant because it looks at younger women who haven’t gone through menopause.

Trial results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago Saturday, and will be published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Globally, breast cancer causes the greatest number of cancer-related deaths among women, according to the World Health Organization.

The study was funded by pharmaceutical manufacturer Novartis.

The drug, which is taken in pill form, costs more than $12,000 a month,