Breakthrough Breast Cancer Study: ‘Outstanding’ Results

The tenth European Breast Cancer Conference has just taken place in Amsterdam, and with it, some extremely exciting news. Professor Nigel Bundred, who is Professor of Surgical Oncology at the University of Manchester presented results from a trial in which twenty-seven women with newly-diagnosed, operable, HER2 positive breast tumours took part. Approximately a quarter of the women, who were treated with a combination of existing cancer drugs, lapatinib and trastuzumab, before surgery and chemotherapy, saw their tumours shrink significantly or even disappear, according to the presentation. Professor Bundred says of the results;

"This has ground-breaking 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."

Professor Judith Bliss, lead researcher from The Institute of Cancer Research, London, which co-led the trial, said:

"Clearly these results need further confirmation, but I suspect the excitement from seeing the speed of disappearance of the tumours will mean that several trials will attempt to confirm these results."

Obviously, this is very exciting news for women worldwide, and I think it is ok to get our hopes up, but the medical team have issued a statement which stresses that at present, the treatment is only proven effective on the HER2 type of breast cancer. Information from the Mayo Clinic explains; HER2-positive breast cancer is a breast cancer that tests positive for a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), which promotes the growth of cancer cells and tend to be more aggressive than other types of breast cancer. Still, fingers and toes crossed, eh? Join the conversation on Twitter @HerFamilyDotie