New breast cancer drugs could help more than previously thought

"Up to one in five women with breast cancer could benefit from a type of treatment currently only given to patients with a rare form of the disease," The Independent reports.
Research suggests around 20% of women with breast cancer may benefit from a new class of drug known as PARP inhibitors.

PARP (poly ADP ribose polymerase) inhibitors were designed to treat women with breast cancer related to inherited mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes (the so-called "Angelina Jolie mutation", because of the film star's history of the mutation) which are thought to account for up to 5% of breast cancers.
But this latest research suggests that as many as one in five women with breast cancer could benefit from PARP inhibitors.
In the study, researchers designed a computer programme to recognise genetic "signatures" associated with problems in the body's ability to defend itself against cancer. These problems are linked to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.
The software looked for non-inherited genetic problems that were similar to the problems caused by inherited BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, which might mean they could be treated in the same way. Of the 560 people tested, the model found 90 people – around 20% of the group – had genetic problems similar to those caused by BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, suggesting they might also benefit from PARP inhibitors.
The next step would be to see whether using PARP inhibitors in these types of cases would be helpful.