Noninfiltrating Intraductal Carcinoma

Chaired by founder Stephen Birrell, MD PhD, group includes experts in breast cancer biology, endocrine signaling and biomarker-driven risk reduction strategies BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Havah Therapeutics, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative, proprietary hormonal implant therapies for prevention and treatment of breast cancers, announced the formation of their Clinical Advisory Board Chaired by Havah Therapeutics founder Stephen Birrell, MD, PhD. “The scientific and clinical guidance of this esteemed group will be invaluable as we advance our androgen targeted therapy into late-stage clinical studies for Ductal Carcinoma In-Situ (DCIS) and investigator-sponsored combination studies in more advanced disease,” said, Matthew Brewer, CEO of Havah Therapeutics. Shelley Hwang, MD, MPH, Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) Investigator and internationally recognized expert in pre-invasive disease and DCIS, added: “I am thrilled to be involved with Havah Therapeutics at this critical stage of their development. Insights gained from their ongoing Phase 2 study ( RECAST DCIS ), coupled with my experience as the principal investigator of the COMET Study , will potentially enable the company’s androgen receptor targeting therapy to provide a much needed treatment alternative to invasive surgery and radiation treatment.” The members of Havah Therapeutics’ Clinical Advisory Board include: Stephen Birrell, MD, PhD (Chair), is founder of Havah Therapeutics and Chief Medical Officer of Wellend Health, an Australia-wide clinic that specializes in breast hormone-health, women at high-risk breast cancer and clinical trials. He is a Clinical Affiliate academic at the University of Adelaide Dame Roma Mitchell Cancer Research Laboratories. Shelley Hwang, MD, MPH is the Mary and Deryl Hart Distinguished Professor of Surgical Oncology and Radiology, Vice Chair of Research and Disease Group Leader for the Breast Cancer Program at Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her research focus includes breast cancer prevention, identifying less invasive treatments for early-stage breast cancers including DCIS and addressing and mitigating health care disparities in breast cancer. Seema A. Khan, MD is Professor of Surgery in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, and the Bluhm Family Professor of Cancer Research. She is the Co-Leader of the Cancer Prevention Research Program at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her research focuses on applying biomarker knowledge to improve breast cancer risk stratification and develop preventive interventions for high-risk women. Her research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the Avon Foundation, and the Susan G. Komen Foundation Professor Wayne Tilley, PhD is the Inaugural Director of the Dame Roma Mitchell Cancer Research Laboratories, University of Adelaide. He completed a Fellowship at UT Southwestern in Dallas Texas in the late 1980s where he was one of the first to clone the human androgen receptor (AR) with Professor Jean Wilson, MD. A current major research focus of Professor Tilley’s lab is the development of new treatments for breast cancer that stimulate the tumor suppressive activity of the AR in the breast (Nature Medicine 2021; Lancet Oncology 2024) to counter the proliferative effects of estrogen. Additional background information on the CAB members can be found on the company’s website: About RECAST DCIS Havah Therapeutics is currently participating in the Re-Evaluating Conditions for Active Surveillance Suitability as Treatment: Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (RECAST DCIS), a Phase 2 platform study aimed at preventing the progression of DCIS to breast cancer. Havah Therapeutics’ HAVAH T+Ai™, a proprietary combination of testosterone (T) and anastrozole (Ai) that targets the androgen and estrogen receptor pathways, is being evaluated alongside two other endocrine therapy arms. About Havah Therapeutics Havah Therapeutics is developing a novel therapeutic implant for treating hormonally sensitive cancers and other breast conditions. This groundbreaking method relies on stimulating (agonizing) the androgen receptor in breast tissue, utilizing natural hormonal mechanisms to treat patients safely and with greatly reduced side effects. The product is a combination of two registered agents (testosterone and anastrozole, a low dose aromatase inhibitor) that when dosed, provides three months of continuous medication enabling a superior product pro compliance, safety and efficacy. For more information, visit . Contacts Media Contacts: Matthew Brewer mb@havahtx.com Danielle Clark-Brown dcb@havahtx.com

THURSDAY, Sept. 19, 2024 -- Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) can increase cancer detection compared with two-dimensional digital mammography (DM), according to a study published online Sept. 17 in Radiology . Liane Elizabeth Philpotts, M.D., from the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues compared cancer types and stages over three years of DM screening and 10 years of DBT screening in a retrospective study that identified breast cancers detected by using screening mammography from August 2008 through July 2021. A total of 1,407 breast cancers were examined: 142 were identified with DM and 1,265 with DBT. The researchers found that the rate of cancer detection was significantly higher with DBT than DM (5.3 versus four cancers per 1,000), with a similar ratio of invasive cancers to ductal carcinomas in situ (76.5:23.5 percent versus 71.1:28.9 percent). There were no differences in the mean invasive cancer size between DM and DBT; incident DBT cases were smaller than prevalent cases. Similar rates of invasive cancer subtypes were seen for DBT and DM: low grade (26.5 versus 29 percent); moderate grade (57.2 versus 51 percent); and high grade (16.1 versus 20 percent). A lower proportion of advanced cancers was seen with DBT than DM (32.6 versus 43.6 percent, respectively) and for DBT prevalent and incident screening (39.1 versus 29.1 percent). No difference was seen in interval cancer rates. "These findings add to the growing literature regarding cancer detection with DBT and may support its use in screening mammography in the United States and globally," the authors write. Abstract/Full Text Editorial (subscription or payment may be required) Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 11, 2024 -- Many women older than 65 years have validated menopausal symptoms severely affecting their quality of life and continue to use menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Menopause Society, held from Sept. 10 to 14 in Chicago. Meenakshi Goel, M.D., from University of Toronto, and colleagues examined the characteristics and motivations of Canadian women older than 65 years who are still using MHT. The analysis included 110 women seen at the Mature Women’s Health and Menopause Clinic at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. The researchers found that the mean age of menopause was 50 years, but the mean age for MHT initiation was 52 years. Participants were taking MHT for an average of 18 years, with 42 percent taking MHT for ≥20 years. Controlling vasomotor symptoms (55 percent), better quality of life (29 percent), and a reduction in chronic pain and arthritis symptoms (7 percent) were the most common reasons for continuing MHT beyond 65 years. Nearly two-thirds of women (65.5 percent) never tried to stop MHT due to ongoing symptoms or for better quality of life, while 26.4 percent tried stopping MHT once and 8.2 percent attempted multiple times. More than one-third of women reported postmenopausal bleeding as the most common side effect. The most common adverse events were hip or other fractures (7.3 percent), and two women had ductal carcinoma in situ breast cancer while taking MHT. “With extensive population-based studies proving various health benefits of MHT beyond 65 years, health practitioners should be more open to considering the continuation of MHT in this age group after appropriate counseling and periodic evaluations for adverse effects/contraindications,” the authors write. Press Release More Information Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.