Oncoprescribe Blog N9831 trial

Timing of Trastuzumab administration when given along with chemotherapy in an adjuvant setting, is gaining more clarity. Updated information presented at the 2009 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium suggests that, as was administered in group C of the N9831 trial, Trastuzumab started concurrently with taxane resulted in a better outcome, with improvement in Disease Free Survival compared to sequentially administering Trastuzumab following completion of taxane chemotherapy. This should clearly be more appealing to patients, as the duration of adjuvant parenteral therapy would be shortened by approximately 3 months in addition to the decrease in the risk of disease recurrence.

Oncoprescribe Blog Dual HER-2 blockade in metastatic Breast Cancer

An updated analysis of the phase III EGF 104900 trial demonstrated some interesting findings. Combining Trastuzumab with Lapatinib – dual HER blockade, in patients with metastatic breast cancer who had progressed on anthracyclines, taxanes and trastuzumab, improved overall survival without significant adverse events. This is in spite of a 50% cross over from the control group to the dual HER blockade group. This may be a telling tale of how individuals with advanced metastatic breast cancer can benefit with targeted therapy.