Eligible women are those who haven't had a menstrual period for at least one year and haven't been treated with a cholesterol-lowering therapy for the past three months. Improving breast cancer treatment through clinical trials Clinical trials and research studies involving patients with breast cancer provide vital information on new treatments that may someday give physicians additional ammunition to fight the disease, not only for current patients but for their daughters and granddaughters. Much of what is used successfully today to treat breast cancer is the result of clinical trials conducted in the past. Now, the majority of women with newly diagnosed breast cancer are offered this breast-conserving treatment. The current study is the first in the nation testing the addition of a new chemotherapy drug, Taxotere , which has been shown to be a powerful agent in destroying breast cancer cells.
All women participating in the study receive standard chemotherapy prior to their surgery.
In addition, some of the women receive Taxotere prior to surgery and others receive the drug after surgery. Once a postoperative mammogram determines the tumor has been removed, the patient undergoes a segmental resection of the area to verify that no more cancer cells remain. Standard postoperative treatment follows. If this procedure proves to be successful, segmental resections may not be necessary in the future. This approach may reduce pain and recovery time while improving cosmetic results.