This low-cost drug can be very effective in breast cancer, a major revelation in a TMC study

Updated: Sat, 25 Oct 2025 02:00 (IST) From New Delhi A Tata Memorial Center study has revealed that a cheap chemotherapy drug called carboplatin can be very effective in treating women suffering from triple-negative breast cancer, especially those below 50 years of age. The use of this medicine improves treatment and increases the chances of survival. Many cases of breast cancer are reported every year in India, many of which are associated with TNBC. Low-cost medicine found for the treatment of breast cancer. Digital Desk, New Delhi. Carboplatin drug can be very effective in the treatment of breast cancer. It has shown encouraging results in testing. Adding low-cost chemotherapy drug carboplatin to treatment significantly improves the chances of cure and survival in patients suffering from triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), especially women under 50, says a new study conducted by Tata Memorial Center (TMC). TNBC is a serious form of breast cancer. Remove ads Read news only In this randomized phase trial, 720 women with stage TNBC were studied at the Tata Memorial Center (TMC) in Mumbai between 2010 and 2020. Dr Sudeep Gupta, director of TMC, Mumbai, the lead author of the study, said on Friday that all patients received standard chemotherapy for once a week before eight weeks, axellit surgery followed by doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide every 21 days in four phases). Patients who were also given carboplatin injection During the study, patients in the platinum group were also given carboplatin injection once a week for eight weeks together with standard chemotherapy. Dr. Gupta said, Carboplatin is an inexpensive chemotherapy drug often used for other cancers. After chemotherapy, all patients received surgery and radiation therapy as usual and were then followed over time. No side effects occurred. He said the addition of carboplatin to the treatment did not cause any major additional side effects. The study also found that the drug had a strong effect on patients under 50 years of age, but had no significant benefit on older patients. He said that while young patients around the world would benefit equally from this treatment, it is especially important for India and other countries where young patients are in large numbers. How many cases of cancer occur in India every year? About 1,80,000 new breast cancer cases are reported in India every year. Of these, one third (55 thousand to 60 thousand) is associated with TNBC, which has a very low survival rate. About 70 percent of these TNBC cases are women under the age of 50. Dr. Rajendra A., Former Director of TMC and Emeritus Professor of Tata Memorial Hospital. “Thanks to this study, we have evidence that an accessible, low-cost drug can improve their chances of treatment and survival,” said Badve.