September was a very good month at San Antonio's START Center for Cancer Care, which had two breakthrough cancer drugs which were tested at start approved for use by the FDA, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Some cancer centers go years without having one of their drugs approved, which makes the START Center's accomplishments all that more significant.
Dr. Amita Patnaik, on oncologist and co-founder of the START Center, says one of the drugs is a targeted treatment option for women with a certain type of breast cancer which is not responding to traditional treatment.
"Hormone receptor breast cancer, in fact, comprises the vast majority of breast cancers that are seen in women over fifty," she said.
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, and a quarter million U.S. women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.
Dr. Patnaik says the use of this newly approved drugs will be a genuine lifesaver for many of these patients.
"The repsonses association with this drug occurred in 60% of women," she said. "Women had an improvement in survival by seven months."And that seven months is critical, because it gives the patient more opportunities to undergo therapies which are known to lead to remission.
The drug, called Verzenio, has been licensed to Eli Lilly and Company.
Dr. Patnaik said breast cancer, like many solid cancers, is incurable once it has spread, and Verzenio blocks that spread.
The other drug tested at START which was approved by the FDA last week treats a form of Non Hodgkins Lymphoma, which is a disease which affects many people in their fifties and sixties.
Dr. Patnaik said the scientists at START deserve credit for this amazing run of success, but she also wants to credit the local individuals who agreed to participate in the tests.
"It takes so much courage on the part of patients to go through a clinical trial," she said. "It is only through the heroic efforts of our patients that we are able to advance the science forward."
Another drug tested at START, Keytruda, has proven to be a breakthrough in treating certain types of skin cancer. Former President Jimmy Carter, who turned 93 years old last weekend, credits Keytruda with curing him of his advanced melanoma.