Two new breast cancer drugs can lengthen the time before tumors worsen in patients with advanced cancer, a new study showed.
"These are powerful advances ... an important step forward," Dr. Paul Burstein of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston told The Associated Press.
An experimental drug from Genentech targets cells that produce a protein called HER2 in a way similar to the drug herceptin. The study looked at 808 women from Europe, the Americas and Asia. The drug, pertuzumab, delayed cancer progression for 18 months when taken along with standard treatment. Other drugs delayed cancer 12 months, and researchers said it appears to be improving survival, though more research is needed.
"You don't see that very often. ... It's a spectacular result," said study author Dr. Sandra Swain of Washington Hospital Center's cancer institute.
Another drug, everolimus, which Novartis AG sells as Afinitor, blocked cancer for seven months in women taking hormone-blocking drugs, whereas a control group saw only a three-month delay.
According to the AP, the drugs will cost up to $10,000 a month, and not likely to cure the cancer. About 40,000 women in the U.S. have cancer that spreads from the breast.
Researchers released results Wednesday at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
