While that may seem modest, researchers said it represented a major impact in such a late stage of the disease. Limentani and Dr. Peter Rubin, a cancer specialist with Presbyterian Oncology Associates, plan to be involved in future studies with Herceptin, combining it with other drugs. They already offer qualified patients a variety of chemotherapy drugs as part of research protocols. About 55 Charlotte patients also participated in the large, nationwide trial of a drug called tamoxifen, which recently proved effective at preventing breast cancer in healthy women at high risk for the disease. Dr. James Boyd, medical director at the Presbyterian Hospital Cancer Center, will also be enrolling patients in a new study this fall that will compare tamoxifen to another anti-estrogen drug, called raloxifene, which some believe works better with fewer side effects.
Surgery is often the first and best treatment for cancer.
For example, breast cancer patients often have swelling and immobility in their arms after having underarm lymph nodes removed during a mastectomy. The fewer nodes removed, the better. The idea behind the new technique is to remove the first, or sentinel, node that would be affected if the cancer has spread. If that node shows no sign of cancer, other nodes likely won't either. The answer for cancer probably won't be anti-angiogenesis or immunotherapy or gene therapy alone, Charlotte doctors agree.