The official MedZine Blog

Results have been presented on a new treatment for an aggressive breast cancer form at the annual congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO). Definitive results of the CLEOPATRA study show a median overall survival of over fifteen months. That is promising news for patients suffering from this aggressive form of cancer, that accounts for nearly a quarter of all breast cancers. 

More than eight hundred women who were suffering from metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer were included in the CLEOPATRA study. One group received the standard treatment of Herceptin (trastuzumab) combined with the cytostatic Docetaxel. Perjeta (pertuzumab) was added to the treatment regime of the other group. Combining Hercepting with Perjeta and Docetaxel resulted in a median overall survival of 56.5 months, compared with 40.8 months for the standard treatment.

Perjeta and Herceptin are monoclonal antibodies, designed to bind to HER2. This receptor is typical for HER2-positive breast cancer and elicits excessive cell growth and an aggressive clinical picture. The binding of a monoclonal antibody to the receptor inhibits HER2 overexpression, leading to tumor suppression.

According to one of the authors, dr. Sandra Swain of the Washington Hospital Center (USA), these results are “unprecedented among studies of metastatic breast cancer”. Key oncologists suggest a combination regime of Perjeta, Herceptin and Docetaxel to become the standard method of care for this type of cancer. Because of this favourable statement, pharmaceutical company Roche expects high revenues from the expensive Perjeta, which they alone are allowed to manufacture.

Sources: The Oncologist, Reuters.

MedZine writes twice per week about controversial medical science.