DeepSummary
The episode discusses the challenges and innovations in breast cancer research and treatment. Adam Rutherford interviews a patient advocate, an oncologist, and a chief scientific officer from Pfizer, exploring topics like the heterogeneity of breast cancer, drug resistance, and the complexity of the immune system as barriers to effective treatment. The guests share insights into targeted therapies, immunotherapies, and novel approaches like epigenetic modulators aimed at overcoming these hurdles.
The oncologist, Dr. Edith Mitchell, highlights the decreasing mortality rate and improved diagnostic technologies in breast cancer due to ongoing research efforts. The chief scientific officer, Jeff Settleman, explains Pfizer's work on developing targeted small molecule treatments, such as cell cycle inhibitors and epigenetic modulatory agents, to provide more personalized and effective therapies with fewer side effects.
Martha Carlson, the patient advocate, shares her personal journey with metastatic breast cancer and emphasizes the importance of clinical trials in advancing treatment options. The episode sets the stage for the next part, which will delve deeper into the clinical trial process and its role in bringing research innovations to patients.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease with various subtypes, making it challenging to develop effective treatments.
- Drug resistance and the complexity of the immune system are major barriers in cancer treatment.
- Targeted therapies, immunotherapies, and novel approaches like epigenetic modulators are being explored to overcome these challenges.
- Patient advocates play a crucial role in raising awareness and promoting access to clinical trials.
- Clinical trials are essential for testing and developing new cancer treatments.
- Collaboration between researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and patients is vital for advancing cancer research.
- Ongoing research efforts have led to improved diagnostic technologies and decreased mortality rates in breast cancer.
- Personalized and effective treatments with fewer side effects are the ultimate goal of cancer research.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “One of the challenges that we face when designing new immunotherapies, just broadly speaking, is that the immune system is remarkably complex, and the ability to effectively leverage a patient's own immune system to battle their cancer is conceptually very powerful. But because of the complexity of the immune system, we don't really understand how to do that optimally and without dialing up the immune system, so much so that it's actually toxic to the patient. And achieving that balance is something that we work hard to better understand.“ by Jeff Settleman
- “One of our biggest challenges is that tumor cells often look a lot like normal cells. And so it can be difficult to discover therapeutics that specifically impact cancer cells while sparing normal, healthy cells.“ by Jeff Settleman
- “The mortality rate from breast cancer has decreased significantly over the last decades. And with research continuing, both research supported by the National Cancer Institute, and research supported by pharmaceutical companies, by radiation companies, all of these have allowed for a decrease in the death rate from breast cancer, and therefore so important.“ by Edith Mitchell
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Episode Information
Science Will Win
Pfizer
10/27/22
Oncologists have more innovative methods for treating breast cancer than ever before. In part one of this two-part series, Adam Rutherford and guests explore the hurdles and successes researchers face as they work to develop new, targeted therapies for breast cancer.
Featured Guests:
- Martha Carlson, Breast Cancer Advocate & Writer
- Dr. Edith Mitchell, Medical Oncologist, Thomas Jefferson University
- Jeff Settleman, Chief Scientific Officer, Pfizer Oncology