Yale Study Seeks New Direction For Breast Cancer Treatment

NEW HAVEN — Dr Lyndsay Harris, director of the Yale Cancer Center Breast Cancer Program, is available to speak about a potential breakthrough in treating chemotherapy-resistant breast cancer that has generated nationwide attention and is being studied in a phase Ib clinical trial at Yale. The treatment combines BSI-101, a PARP inhibitor, with the chemotherapy drug Irinotecan.

Recent news of the potential effectiveness of PARP inhibitors to treat chemo-resistant cancer has given patients new hope for treatment of their disease. Earlier this month, a discussion of PARP inhibitors created excitement at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Orlando, Fla., when data was presented showing the clinical benefit of the therapy.

PARP inhibitors are a new class of targeted drugs that prevent DNA repair of the cellular damage from chemotherapy. 

Without the ability to repair and essentially reverse the effects of chemotherapy, the PARP inhibitors allow the drugs to more effectively destroy the cancerous cells.

Dr Harris, who is also associate professor of medical oncology at Yale School of Medicine, is the national principal investigator of this clinical trial and is available to discuss the newest advances in PARP inhibitors.

Dr Harris can be reached at lyndsay.harris@yale.edu or by phone at 203-785-7003 (office).

Yale Cancer Center is one of a select network of comprehensive cancer centers in the country designated by the National Cancer Institute and the only one in Southern New England.  Bringing together the resources of Yale School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Hospital, its mission encompasses patient care, research, cancer prevention and control, community outreach, and education. 

For more information visit www.yalecancercenter.org.