SABCS 2009: Targeted Treatment for HER2-positive Breast Cancer
Dr. Edith Perez of the Mayo Clinic discusses the benefits of Herceptin given concurrently with chemotherapy for women with HER2-positive breast cancer.
For more information about this study, please see the Daily News.
Transcript:
ANDREA McCARREN, Host: First, thank you Dr. Perez for joining us. And tell us about the nature of your study, and what your findings were.
DR. EDITH PEREZ, MD. Cancer Specialist, Mayo Clinic: We have been very interested in finding better treatment for patients with breast cancer. Specifically we want to find the best targeted treatments based on the abnormalities on the cancer. One of the important abnormalities is Her2. So a lot of our studies have really followed how to best manage patients with Her2-positive breast cancer. The result presented at this worldwide meeting address how to best use a drug that is already available called Herceptin to decrease the risk that the cancer would return in patients who have had that surgery for early Her2-positive breast cancer.
HOST: What are the implications of the research that you’ve done?
DR. PEREZ: Very, very important actually. I’m so honored really, to be at this meeting overall. I’m honored to be a clinician investigator in breast cancer, and I’m very honored that the results of our studies will impact the lives of so many patients. Because what we’ve found is that Herceptin, the specific drug that targets Her2 helps when we use it with chemotherapy. You know, we’ve known this but now we have long-term follow-up. But more than that we learned that we can use Herceptin after chemotherapy, and by doing that we can improve the outcome of the patients. But if we give them Herceptin concurrent, or at the same time of chemotherapy, the outcome results are even better.
HOST: And that’s in terms of lifespan but also quality of life.
DR. PEREZ : That is correct, yes, because if we can prevent the cancers from returning it’s obviously a great thing for patient’s quality of life.
HOST: Is this the only study of its kind?
DR. PEREZ: It is, especially it’s taken a lot of years of work, a lot of collaboration with people. The results of our study have been eagerly awaited throughout the world because people have not known the best way to use Herceptin. Should it be used after chemotherapy? Should it be used concurrent with chemotherapy? So I’m very happy, honored, glad that we designed the proper study to get the answers for our patients.
HOST: It seems like the progress that has been made in treatment is staggering over the last say, five or ten years. What’ve you witnessed?
DR. PEREZ: Exactly what you say. And even with our study, you know I can quote you some numbers that really put this in good perspective. If we use chemotherapy alone we found that 72% of the patients are alive at five years without recurring cancer. If we use chemotherapy followed by Herceptin, that numbers goes from 72 to 80% of women being alive without breast cancer. But if we use the Herceptin concurrent with chemotherapy that number goes to 84%. Pretty dramatic.
HOST: Very dramatic. Anything else that you’d like to add about the work you’ve done?
DR. PEREZ: Well, certainly I hope that we can continue doing all we can – educating, clinical research, basic research – to decrease the risk of breast cancer, and ultimately to find the best therapy for each patient diagnosed with this disease.
HOST: Dr. Perez, thank you so much.
