A new cancer drug for patients with the same faulty gene as actress Angelina Jolie has shown "impressive responses" in a clinical trial, researchers have said.

The potential drug, called BMN 673, targets DNA repair in cancer cells and is designed to attack tumours that have been left vulnerable by genetic mutations.

BRCA genes were brought into the public consciousness last month after Jolie, 37, revealed she underwent a double mastectomy when doctors told her that her faulty gene - BRCA1 - meant she had an 87% risk of developing breast cancer and a 50% risk of ovarian cancer.

Scientists studying BMN 673 found the drug was "well tolerated" by patients and showed "excellent anti-tumour activity", the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust said.

The results of the trial - which was funded by US firm BioMarin Pharmaceutical and involved the University of Newcastle and several American institutions - were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Asco) meeting in Chicago.

Some 70 patients with a range of cancers, including ovarian or peritoneal, and breast, were monitored, and patients with cancers linked to BRCA mutations saw the most substantial improvement.

The researchers used different measures of the drug's effect on tumour instability and breakdown.

One was a clinical score called Recist, which included a range of measures such as whether visible lesions, or cracks, appear in the walls of tumours after treatment.

Some 11 of 25 evaluable ovarian cancer patients with BRCA mutations had a Recist-positive response to treatment, as did seven of 18 breast cancer patients with BRCA mutations.Signs of some clinical benefit were seen in several more patients, the experts said.

BRCA mutations reduce cells' ability to repair their DNA, and when inherited substantially increase the risk of developing a range of cancers, including breast, ovarian and prostate.

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Jolie gene drug trial 'impressive'

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