Herceptin clears HER2 tumors in 3x more women than chemo

Swiss drug major Roche says that new data presented at the annual European Cancer Conference, held in Barcelona, Spain, show that the addition of Herceptin (trastuzumab) to chemotherapy prior to breast cancer surgery completely eradicates tumors in nearly three times as many women with inflammatory HER2-positive breast cancer as chemotherapy alone. Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare, but highly aggressive form of the disease - the tumors spread quickly, often leading to the need for full mastectomies, and it has a worse outlook than other breast cancers.

"This Herceptin data is very important for women with inflammatory HER2-positive breast cancer, an extremely aggressive cancer," said Wolfgang Eiermann, medical director, Red Cross Women's Hospital in Munich. "Women could have their tumors eradicated by treating with Herceptin and chemotherapy prior to surgery which could lead to fewer mastectomies and, more importantly, fewer deaths from this type of breast cancer," he added.

The results from the NOAH study demonstrated that Herceptin plus chemotherapy led to the complete disappearance of the tumor in the breast in nearly three times as many patients with inflammatory breast cancer (55% versus 19%, p=0.004) compared to chemotherapy alone. The combination also led to complete disappearance of the tumors from both the breast and the lymph nodes in 48% of patients vs only 13% of those who received chemotherapy alone (p=0.002).