Breast cancer study finds drug combination that gives 'astonishing' results

The results of the Cancer Research UK-funded trial, presented at the 10th European Breast Cancer Conference in Amsterdam, could - if successfully replicated - lead to fewer women needing chemotherapy.
Around a quarter of 66 women with HER2 positive breast cancer treated for 11 days with both trastuzumab (the generic name for Herceptin) and lapatinib saw their tumours rapidly shrink significantly or even disappear.
Prof Nigel Bundred, from the University of Manchester and the University Hospital of South Manchester NHS foundation trust, who presented the data, said: "This has groundbreaking potential because it allows us to identify a group of patients who, within 11 days, have had their tumours disappear with anti-HER2 therapy alone and who potentially may not require subsequent chemotherapy.
"This offers the opportunity to tailor treatment for each individual woman."
Samia al Qadhi, chief executive at Breast Cancer Care, said: "The astonishing findings in this study show that combining these two drugs has the potential to shrink HER2 positive breast cancer in just 11 days.
"For some HER2 positive breast cancer patients the effect of this drug combination will be amazing and mean they can avoid chemotherapy and its gruelling side effects completely. For others, their tumours may not shrink, but doctors will know either way very quickly, giving them the ability to rapidly decide on further treatment.
"Although an early study, this has game changing potential. Yet before this can be made available we need to see more evidence.
Particularly because, at present, trastuzumab's (Herceptin) licensing means it is only available to be used alongside chemotherapy and not alone. All cancer patients deserve access to clinically effective treatments."
Trial co-leader Prof Judith Bliss, director of the clinical trials and statistics unit at the Institute of CancerResearch, London, said: "It was unexpected to see quite such dramatic responses to the trastuzumab and lapatinib within 11 days.
"Our results are a strong foundation on which to build further trials of combination anti-HER2 therapies prior to surgery - which could reduce the number of women who require subsequent chemotherapy, which is also very effective but can lead to long-term side effects."
The trial, led by researchers from Manchester University, the University Hospital of South Manchester NHS foundation trust and the Institute of Cancer Research, studied 257 women with HER2 positive breast cancer in the short gap between their initial diagnosis and surgery to remove their tumours.
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