A study underway at Johns Hopkins is trying to determine first if the mixture is safe. Together, they have a good track record for killing cancer cells. But some cells can live on, spreading to other organs. Hopkins oncologist Dr. Deborah Armstrong is testing this combination. If one chemotherapy drug damages a hundred cells and 99 of those cells die but one of them can repair the damage, what we're hoping is this drug will prevent that one cancer cell from being able to repair itself, and causing the death of all of the cancer cells.
Ovarian cancer is almost always fatal.
Early treatment has been elusive because it's difficult to diagnose. If this three-drug approach is safe for patients, step two will be measuring how well it works to extend the lives of the women diagnosed each year. At the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, I'm Tom Haederle reporting. The Johns Hopkins University. All rights reserved.