herceptin benefit in those with small (,2cm) node negative her2+ tumors

[Lani]

Oops! I was trying to type <2cm

at ASCO breast meeting currently in SF


Abstract 228 Poster Discussion: Systemic Mgmt. Thursday, October 8, 2009 6:00-7:00 PM PST
Lead Author: Heather L. McArthur, MD, MPH Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center New York, NY
Women with small node-negative HER2+ breast tumors appear to benefit from adjuvant trastuzumab (Herceptin) treatment: Based on a review of approximately 500 records of patients treated between Jan. 2002 and Dec. 2008, researchers found that women with small (2 cm or less) HER2-positive breast cancers that had not spread to lymph nodes who received trastuzumab-based treatment after surgery had significantly better outcomes than a comparable population of women treated before trastuzumab was available (Jan. 2002 through May 15, 2004). In the trastuzumab-treated group, there was only one death and no recurrences. In the trastuzumab-naive group, there were ten locoregional recurrences, nine distant recurrences and six deaths. In the U.S., adjuvant trastuzumab is FDA-approved in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of node-positive or high-risk, node-negative, HER2-positive breast cancer; however, whether women with lower risk, HER2-positive breast cancer derive benefit from trastuzumab has not been established.
“This is a provocative analysis suggesting a significant benefit in disease- free survival for patients with Stage I breast cancer who received trastuzumab,” said Lori Pierce, MD, Professor, Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan School of Medicine.“It will be important to test this hypothesis prospectively to be sure the potential benefit of trastuzumab is not over-estimated in this low-risk patient population.”