Major Breast Cancer Breakthrough

Oct. 20, 2005 — -- Recent studies show that a drug generally used for advanced breast cancer is astonishingly effective against an aggressive form of early breast cancer.

"I don't think I've ever seen this level of excitement about a new therapy or treatment for breast cancer," said Dr. Susan Troyan of Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston.

In 20 percent of women diagnosed with the disease, Herceptin, made by Genetech, Inc., may reduce the risk of relapse by 50 percent.

The usually reserved New England Journal of Medicine wrote, "The results are simply stunning. They're not evolutionary, they're revolutionary."

The government approved Herceptin in 1998 for advanced breast cancer that already has spread within the body, but early-stage cases are more common.

"This produces real results both in reoccurrence and in survival, and it works on a biological/molecular level so it is a natural method rather than the toxins and chemicals used for chemotherapy," said ABC medical contributor Dr. Tim Johnson. "The results confirm that there is a new way to treat breast cancer."

Three new studies that followed more than 6,500 women with early-stage breast cancer found that patients on Herceptin showed a disease-free survival rate that was 12 percentage points higher than without it.

Kristie Naimes was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer two years ago at the age of 30.

"I was given very little hope," Naimes said. "I was given less than a 30 percent chance of living five years and not being able to see my daughter grow up. I was told that Herceptin could be my one shot at life."

After surgery to remove the tumors, Naimes got traditional chemotherapy, the Herceptin, a much more targeted drug, also given intravenously.

"I'm in perfect health," said Naimes, now 32. "My cancer has not come back."

While Herceptin is a breakthrough, it is not a cure. Approximately 211,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, and 40,000 die. Herceptin will help one in five women with breast cancer, or about 20 percent. Some doctors estimate about 30,000 women could be taking Herceptin in the next couple of years, curing about 7,000 women who would otherwise relapse.