Survival rates for HER2+ patients

MCS · 08-30-2006, 01:03 PM

Hi everyone!

Does anyone have the link for the survival rates for us HER2+ ?

I was able to find stats for all breast cancers but not specific for us. I have searched in several sites and just cannot find

Thank you.

MCS (maria)

chrisy · 08-30-2006, 01:45 PM

good question...maybe somebody can track this down.

I have not seen these statistics, only references to "poor prognosis" but I think the real challenge is that the game has really changed with Herceptin and now, hopefully, Tykerb. Any statistics you see that are older than a few years ago for metastatic disease do not reflect the improvement in survival due to Herceptin.

Statistics for early stage Her2 are now absolutely invalid as adjuvant Herceptin has only been approved in the past year.

So I guess I'm saying, use caution with any survival stats you may find - if they are for the general Her2 population, they probably look far worse than the true picture is today. Stats for Herceptin or Tykerb trials may give a more accurate picture, but these would also be skewed.

Here's to blowing away ALL the "bad stats" and creating new positive ones!

MCS · 08-30-2006, 02:30 PM

Hi Crisy,

I hear you about the positive vibes.

From looking atyour response, did you have any symptoms between 02 and 05? How were the liver mets found three years later? a regular check up? I'm not sure if i see the whole picture.

What usually is amazing is how quickly this spreads or just says surprise to us and with a vengeance too. Like, guess who's back!

This is such a continuous battle for all of us

I did find information on http://professional.cancerconsultants.com which gave the results the infamous ASCO 2005. It is the results of the clinical trials for adjuvant. Maybe that will have to suffice for now?

You're right. We do have to look ahead.

MCS ( maria)

R.B. · 08-30-2006, 03:12 PM

And statistics are just that.

Diet lifestyle etc are accepted factors in risk reduction, so on an individual basis statistics are by no means the whole story.

RB

tousled1 · 08-30-2006, 04:59 PM

I don't think we'll have any stats on survival rates with the use of Herceptin for some time. Herceptin is a new drug and they are still doing clinical trials on it. They are not sure if more is better or less is better -- meaning 1 year, more than 1 year, or 9 weeks. It will be interesting when stats do become available. In the meantime, all we can do is remain positive.

chrisy · 08-30-2006, 08:08 PM

I had no symptoms, my liver mets were discovered "by accident", or divine intervention - I had some stomach upset (which went away on it's own!) which got my doctor sending me for ultrasounds and eventually CT scans. This is how the liver mets were detected in August 2004 - actually, 2 years ago today!

We do need to stay vigilant, but remember, I did not have adjuvant Herceptin or for that matter, any chemo. I went from stage 0 to stage IV, so my case is very unusual. I've always been an overachiever!
Take care
Chris

deb-steph · 09-08-2006, 11:32 AM

i have also been wondering about the survival rates of her2. i also want to know if being her2 is considered metastatic. everything i read is about herceptin treating metastatic breast cancer. i am a stage IIb her2 positive. i'm considered a primary cancer with no other health problems (diabetes, heart disease, etc) so i'm unclear how i stack up in all these numbers. i see my oncologist on the 21st and i have numerous questions, this being one of them. he told me at the time i started to see him that with surgery alone i had a 25 - 40% chance of the cancer returning but with surgery (lumpectomy), chemo, radiation and herception my chances went back down to 14 - 18% chance of recurrence.