Breast cancer and traztuzumab plus neratinib target drug therapy hope
Breast Cancer cures and targeted drug therapy hope may be realized with a novel combination of two powerful drugs that is being undertaken at the Cleveland Clinic. I think this deserves a closer look.
A Phase 1b/II Dose-Escalation Study Evaluating the Combination of Traztuzumab Emtansine (T-DM1) with Neratinib in Women with Metastatic HER2-Positive Breast Cancer is the name of the study which will evaluate roughly 50 people.
We realize this is a little complicated, but the two medicines work in different ways and could eclipse the 60% response rate seen with either medicine alone. The lead on this important trial is Jame Abraham who has the hope of using these two targeted treatments to give better clinical results and fewer side effects and decreased toxicity. The two phases of the research will have a focus of safety and how people tolerate the drugs, followed by phase two where the overall response rate in people with measurable disease will be checked.
Traztuzumab (T-DM1) promotes tumor death and appears to work in people with advanced disease. Some clinicians have called T-DM1 the preferred treatment for progressive HER2 breast cancer.
Neratinib is an investigational medicine made by Puma Biotechnology. A phase 3 study shows it to have a benefit in early stage HER2 positive breast cancer.
People who have gotten these medicines got a 32-60 percent response rate. Researchers are thinking that the combination of two promising medicine at the same time might give an even greater benefit. Sometimes one plus one adds up to more than 2. I will include this in the upcoming Essential Guide to Prescription Drugs and will devote full profiles to the medicines once they are approved!
Visit again here or look at www.fda.gov for further information on this new research and the medicine path to possible approval. Also visit www.clinicaltrials.gov for information and sites for the study itself (NCT02236000).