Friday 11 March 2016

'Breast Cancer drugs can destroy tumours in 11 days' EBCC Conference

British doctors have discovered combining two powerful breast cancer drugs could dramatically shrink or destroy tumours in just 11 days. File photograph: Rui Vieira/PA Wire
Combining two powerful breast cancer drugs could dramatically shrink or destroy tumours in just 11 days, British doctors have discovered.

Some patients with HER2 positive breast cancer may be spared chemotherapy altogether if they are given the drugs straight after diagnosis and before they have surgery.  About 15 per cent to 25 per cent of women diagnosed with breast cancer have HER2, which tends to grow more quickly than some other types of breast cancer.

Researchers have discovered that combining the drugs Tyverb (lapatinib) and Herceptin (trastuzumab) and giving them to women before surgery could lead to tumours shrinking significantly or even disappearing.

Presenting their findings at the European Breast Cancer Conference in Amsterdam, experts described the findings as exciting.

The UK EPHOS-B trial involved 257 women with newly diagnosed HER2 positive breast cancer.
In the first part of the trial, 130 women were randomised to receive either no treatment before surgery or Herceptin and Tyverb for 11 days after diagnosis and before surgery.

According to Cancer Research UK, current treatments are effective, and women often experience a complete response after three to four months.

Nevertheless, researchers said the 11-day response was very surprising.
Prof Arnie Purushotham, senior clinical adviser at Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, said: “These results are very promising if they stand up in the long run and could be the starting step of finding a new way to treat HER2 positive breast cancers.

About 5,300 to 8,000 women a year are diagnosed with HER2 positive breast cancer.



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