U.S. regulators have approved the first drug aimed at women with advanced breast cancer caused by an inherited flawed gene.
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved AstraZeneca PLC’s Lynparza for patients with inherited BRCA gene mutations who have undergone chemotherapy.
The drug has been on the market since 2014 for ovarian cancer, and is the first in a new class of medicines called PARP inhibitors to be approved for breast cancer. PARP inhibitors prevent cancer cells from fixing problems in their DNA.
I wonder if this drug might be adapted to be used as a pre-emptive for those who have the BRCA gene but have not yet developed breast cancer, stopping it in it’s tracks before it ever shows up! That would certainly be cause for celebration!!