Chico >> Enloe Medical Center is ramping up its participation in cancer research with the goal of improving patient treatment.
Dr. Nicole Whitlatch, Enloe Comprehensive Breast Care hematologist and oncologist, said clinical trials aim to provide better patient care by gathering information to help medical professionals improve the quality of life and treatment for their patients, she said.
Whitlatch, whose practice focuses on breast cancer, provided details about three breast cancer trials underway at the medical center.
One examines the role of breast MRIs before surgeries to determine if they are necessary for all patients. They are expensive and can cause discomfort. This research will go to the American College of Radiology Imaging Network.
Another trial aims to figure out if doctors can provide another form of treatment for patients with metastatic estrogen-positive breast cancer, the growth of which is influenced by the presence of estrogen. Standard care includes estrogen production blocking pills, such as an aromatase inhibitor. This study examines adding entinostat, a cell cycle inhibitor that blocks cell growth, to see if it helps kill more tumors and provide better outcomes for patients, Whitlatch said. The goal is to avoid chemotherapy if possible.
Over time, cancer cells can learn how to grow around estrogen blockers, Whitlatch said. This trial is for patients who have experienced that. Other cell cycle inhibitors have already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but it’s always good to offer patients options, she said.
The National Clinical Trials Network will receive this research.
A third breast cancer trial involves figuring out an ideal chemotherapy regimen for patients with early stage, triple negative breast cancer. It involves testing the use of a fourth chemotherapy drug called Carboplatin for patients that have cancer cells that do not express the genes for an estrogen receptor, a progesterone receptor or HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2).
Triple-negative breast cancer is aggressive and more likely to come back compared to hormone positive breast cancer, Whitlatch said.
These results will be sent to the National Cancer Institute.
Those who are interested in learning more about Enloe Medical Center’s breast cancer trials should contact Enloe Comprehensive Breast Care at 332-4530.
Breast cancer care
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Enloe recently held a Facebook Live event to teach people about breast cancer awareness and self-care.
Dr. Lydia Schrader, Enloe Comprehensive Breast Care medical director and breast surgeon, said in the video that people need to be their own breast advocates.
Breast awareness is important because breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women in the U.S. after skin cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If breast cancer is found early, “not only do we have better survival and fewer deaths, but we also have more opportunities to spare the breasts,” Schrader said.
“Fifty to 75 years ago, mastectomies were the only option, and now most of the surgeries we do can be breast-conserving surgeries. Although one in eight women will get breast cancer, if it’s found early, you can save a life and you can save a breast.”
Breast awareness means self-examination of the breasts, Schrader said, for men and women — looking at them in mirror after a shower, keeping an eye out for dimples, redness, scaling or rashes on the areola, lumps, pain and nipples that have changed direction or retracting, being pulled back into the breast.
Though most of these symptoms can be attributed to other things that are benign, Schrader said, they are all things to take note of, and speak to health care providers about.
Contact reporter Ashiah Scharaga at 896-7768.