IBC news from San Antonio

[StephN]

Hey Sandy - and the others here who are fighting inflammatory breast cancer.

I just got the Program Schedule from the upcoming Breast Cancer Symposium (which Sandy H will be attending) and would you believe that the FIRST presentation of the conference is titled:

"A Phase II combination study of lapatinib (Tykerb) and paclitaxel as a neoadjuvent therapy in patients with newly diagnosed inflammatory breast cancer (IBC)."

This is a multicenter AND international study.

Then following that is another study presentation on lapatinib and capecitabine.

There will be a couple of other presentations specific to IBC as well.

Things are looking up for this particular brand of breast cancer.

[Sandy H]

Thanks Steph, we can always count on you for keeping us posted! I don't have my schedule as yet should have it soon. Guess, you know what I will be attending. I am always looking for anything to do with IBC. Sounds good to me. Word is getting out there. hugs, Sandy

[sarah]

Hello,
When and where is this conference?
Do you know who will be attending for the IBC part?
Do the Tyberb trials protocol insist of progressive biopsies or do some check with scans?
checking for my friend who has IBC
thanks
sarah

[lexigirl]

Thank you so much for the info. Steph. Anxiously awaiting some good news re: IBC!

Thanks,
Lexi

[Sandy H]

I will be attending the conference in San Antonio (it is Dec. 13th to the 17th.) as an ambassadore for the Her2 here. Being IBC myself I will be looking for anything to do with IBC. We will be posting from time to time here news and updates from this conference. It will come all during the year and not all at once. Just because we are not posting here don't think there is nothing in the works. This is the best informed online support I know of. So keep watching as new links are being added the most recent being IBC. hugs, Sandy

[heblaj01]

Here is the(good) news from SABCS (the Forum representatives at SABCS are likely to bring back more detailed info):

Lapatinib Effective for Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Presented at SABCS

By Charlene Laino

SAN ANTONIO, TX -- December 14, 2006 -- The small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor lapatinib appears to be effective for the treatment of women with aggressive, inflammatory breast cancer, a prospective phase 2 study suggests.

Massimo Cristofanilli, MD, associate professor, department of breast medical oncology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, reported the findings here on December 14<SUP>th</SUP> at the 29<SUP>th</SUP> Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS).

Dr. Cristofanilli and colleagues enrolled 35 women who were a median of 53 years of age and diagnosed with previously untreated inflammatory breast cancer. The women were divided into 2 groups: cohort A included 30 women whose tumors overexpressed human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2); cohort B included 5 women whose tumors were epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-positive but who did not overexpress human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2).

All patients were given 1,500 mg of lapatinib daily for 14 days, followed by 3 months of 1,500 mg of lapatinib daily plus 80 mg/m<SUP>2</SUP> of paclitaxel for 12 weeks. At the end of this treatment period, all patients were referred for surgery.

The study's results showed that 77% of patients in cohort A responded to lapatinib, with 10% achieving a complete response and 67% a partial response. In Cohort B, 80% of patients had a partial response and none had a complete response.

Of the 21 patients who completed surgery at data analysis, 14% had a pathologic complete response -- all of them in cohort A. Dr. Cristofanilli noted that pathological complete response is "a strong prognostic factor for improved outcomes."

Lapatinib was generally well tolerated, he said, with only 1 patient discontinuing treatment due to toxicity. The most common grade 3 toxicity was diarrhea, observed in 60% patients.

"In summary, lapatinib is clinically active in the neoadjuvant treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer," he said. "We strongly believe it provides new hope to the patient with inflammatory breast cancer."

The research was supported by GlaxoSmithKline, which is developing lapatinib under the trade name Tykerb.

[lexigirl]

Wow, very good news! Thank you for sharing this!! This is such an exciting time in medicine. I am hopeful that there may be a cure on the horizon!


Hugs,
Lexi

[sherri]

Me too! This is a great news.

[Sandy H]

Thanks for posting this helba, don't know your name. I sat in on this presentation and I was encouraged. Was going to post it but you beat me to it so thanks. Tykerb will be released soon and this will give us more options of combos to try and I am sure the docs will brain storm and come up with even more. So this is great news for us IBC'ers. Things keep looking up for us. Steph we missed you this year. It was a very busy time and lots happening I am sure you would have enjoyed it. hugs, Sandy