Shorter trastuzumab treatment for HER2+ breast cancer can be as effective, with fewer cardiac side-effects

(American Society of Clinical Oncology) A phase III randomized clinical trial of 4,088 women with HER2-positive, early-stage breast cancer found that taking trastuzumab (Herceptin) for 6 months was non-inferior to the current standard of 12 months. The disease-free survival rate at four years was 89.4 percent with 6 months of therapy and 89.8 percent with 12 months of therapy. In addition, only 4 percent of women in the 6-month arm stopped trastuzumab early because of cardiac problems, compared with 8 percent in the 12-month arm.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news