PARP Inhibitor in trial stages at Texas Oncology in Amarillo
AMARILLO, TEXAS -- A medical breakthrough for triply negative breast cancer patients. Though Texas Oncology right here in Amarillo patients can particiapte in the third phase of trials, for a drug that could be a cancer cure.
The drug is called a PARP Inhibitor, it's taken orally and does not have the side effects other cancer treatments have--there's no hair loss for example.
Doctor David Beggs explains how the drug works.
"If you have a substance that can actually inhibit the repair mechanism, or the PARP inhibitor, then the cells can't repair themselves. When you assault them with things like chemo or radiation, and the cells can't repair themselves, they die. So that's the whole objective of using the PARP inhibitor." Beggs said.
The drug has had good results so far, at least one third of people in studies have had a positive outcome. Beggs said the FDA could approve this drug in as soon as about a year.
"No doubt his is one of the medicines that will be sort of fast-tracked by the FDA, so it could be considerably less than that," said Beggs.
