Breast cancer screening: one life saved at a cost of three overdiagnosis.

Two manufacturer sponsored phase III trials suggest that alemtuzumab, an anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody that is licensed to treat leukaemia, may help control multiple sclerosis. Both trials lasted two years and compared alemtuzumab with interferon beta-1a, which is considered first line treatment. One trial looked at 563 patients who had not yet undergone treatment for multiple sclerosis, whereas the other trial looked at 840 people, some of whom had not responded to previous treatment with interferon beta-1a or glatiramer. The second trial tested 12 mg and 24 mg doses of alemtuzumab against interferon. In the first trial, 22% (82/376) of patients who received alemtuzumab relapsed within two years, compared with 40% (75/187) of those who received interferon beta-1a. In the second trial, 35% (147/426) of patients who received 12 mg alemtuzumab relapsed compared with 51% (104/202) of those who received interferon beta-1a. No difference was seen in the first trial in sustained accumulation of disability (an increase of at least one point on the expanded disability status scale over six months). In the second trial, however, this outcome also improved with alemtuzumab Breast cancer screening: one life saved at a cost of three overdiagnoses