Benefits of Herceptin outweigh the risk of harm in advanced breast cancer

In women with advanced (or metastatic) breast cancer, treatment with the breast cancer drug trastuzumab, Swiss drug major Roche’s (ROG: SIX) Herceptin is associated with prolonged survival but also increases the risk of developing heart problems, a new systematic review shows. However, the review, published in The Cochrane Library, concludes that more women benefit from use of trastuzumab than are harmed.

The review focuses on treatment for women with advanced stage breast cancer who have tested HER2- positive. About one in five women with breast cancer are HER2-positive. HER2 is a protein on the surface of breast cells called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. It encourages tumor cells to grow and divide. The prognosis for HER2-positive patients is usually worse because the high levels of HER2 on their tumour cells make their cancer more aggressive.

The antibody-based drug trastuzumab is designed to target these specific types of tumours. It has been recommended for treating women who have HER2-positive advanced breast cancer since 1998 in the USA and 2002 in the UK.