Breakthrough breast cancer therapy reduces mastectomies, saves breast

A new treatment developed and tested by University of Oklahoma researchers not only killed large breast cancer tumors, but reduced the need for mastectomies by almost 90 percent. The latest results appear in an upcoming issue of the Annals of Surgical Oncology.

Building on this success, researchers at the OU Health Sciences Center, plan to start the next phase of clinical trials this year to test the therapy on even larger tumors.

"This therapy is a major advancement for women with later stage breast cancer. Right now, most patients with large tumors lose their breast. With this treatment along with chemotherapy, we were able to kill the cancer and save the breast tissue," said William Dooley, M.D., a researcher at the OU Cancer Institute and the director of surgical oncology at OU Medicine.

Dr. Dooley is leading a group of researchers from OU, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, the Comprehensive Breast Center in Florida and St. Joseph's Hospital in California.