According to the report by the Tata Memorial Center, a commonly available and inexpensive drug, carboplatin, increased the cure rate and survival of a very aggressive type of breast cancer, especially among young women. In the randomized controlled trial, women with stage II-III triple-negative breast cancer were enrolled between 2010 and 2020. The enrolled women were divided into two groups.

In the study, women in the standard treatment group received standard chemotherapy consisting of once-per-week paclitaxel for 8 weeks followed by doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide every 3 weeks for 4 cycles. In the treatment group, women received the same chemotherapy with the addition of carboplatin injections once per week for 8 weeks, given with paclitaxel.

According to the study′s author, the study had four major findings. Firstly, the population cure rate (5-year disease-free survival) increased by 6.6% from 64.1% in the standard arm to 70.7% in the treatment arm. Secondly, the overall survival increased by 7.6%, from 66.8% in the standard arm to 74.4% in the treatment arm.

Thirdly, when the results were analyzed by age, the benefit of weekly carboplatin was almost exclusively confined to women younger than 50 years. Fourthly, the cure rate and overall survival rate increased by 12.5% and 11.2%, respectively, in women younger than 50. 

(Source: https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=1028827)