[disappointment2]

By Eddie Wrenn: 15:05 GMT, 4 June 2012

Medical experts in the UK have made a major breakthrough in their research to keep breast cancer
at bay for longer. A new drug, which has been tested, has been proven to stall the disease for longer than
current treatments, providing fresh hope for patients.

The Freeman Hospital in Newcastle was among a handful of centres across the world to test a new treatment
for advanced breast cancer. Results from the study also show the drug, T-DM1, significantly reduces the side
effects of chemotherapy.

While T-DM1 is undergoing further trials, the discovery is being hailed as a major step forward.



Researchers believe the technique of attaching a powerful chemotherapy to an antibody, like Herceptin,
could also change the way other breast cancers are treated in the future.

T-DM1 is already being trialled in the earlier stages of the disease where side-effects caused by chemotherapy,
like diarrhoea and hair loss, have a huge impact on patients.

The drug is not yet available for use. But based on the study’s results, a licence application will be made for
its approval in the UK and Europe. Following authorisation from the European Medicines Agency, T-DM1 could
be made available to patients in less than a year.