Proven drug targeting protein that stimulates growth breast cancer Its efficacy against tumors containing extremely low levels of protein for the first time.
This is not a cure, but it is one of the latest gains in a targeted response to cancer, which could open the door to the possibility of producing new therapies for thousands of patients with advanced breast cancer.
So far, breast cancers have been classified as either HER2-positive, where the cancer cells contain more protein than normal, or HER2-negative.
Combination of chemotherapy
Doctors who announced the new success on Sunday said it would make the low HER2 category a new category to guide breast cancer treatment.
About half of patients with late-stage breast cancer are categorized as HER2 negative and may in fact be HER2 low and qualify for the drug.
breast cancer
The drug is “Herto”, a combination of chemotherapy and antibodies injected into a vein, which finds and blocks the HER2 protein from cancer cells, while also releasing a powerful cancer-killing chemical into those cells.
The new drug belongs to a relatively new class of drugs called antibody conjugates.
The drug has already been approved for HER2-positive breast cancer, and in April the US Food and Drug Administration granted it status of achievement for this new group of patients.
advanced drug
In the new study, the drug extended the time patients lived without cancer developing and improved survival compared to patients who received regular chemotherapy.
Also, the study compared HERTO with standard chemotherapy in nearly 500 patients with low HER2 breast cancer that had either spread or could not be treated with surgery.
Cancer cells (iStock)
The drug halted the progression of the cancer for about 10 months, compared to about 5 and a half months in the group receiving regular care.
The drug also improved survival by about six months (from 17.5 months to 23.9 months).