Women in Shropshire today welcomed news cancer drug Herceptin could reduce the number of mastectomies if used in the early stages of treatment.
A new study says if the drug is used alongside chemotherapy before women undergo surgery, the tumour shrinks substantially, meaning less drastic surgery can be carried out.
Today, two women who were given Herceptin for their cancer said the study was good news.
Margaret Bradford, pictured, and Ann Cook, both from the Oswestry area, were among the Shropshire women who successfully campaigned to receive Herceptin on the NHS.
They said: “This is good news for women. Anything that can help cancer patients in their treatment has to be welcomed.”
They both had the HER2-positive breast cancer, which can be treated by Herceptin or trastuzumab.
It is a particularly aggressive form of the disease, because the tumours are typically fast-growing.
But the Neoadjuvant Herceptin study demonstrated the drug plus chemotherapy eradicated the tumour in about 43 per cent of patients, compared to 23 per cent of those treated with chemotherapy alone.
The drug is not currently licensed for use as a pre-surgery treatment.
Professor Luca Gianni, a director of medical oncology in Milan, said: “Treatment before surgery is administered to patients to help render inoperable tumours removable.
“The addition of the drug shows extremely positive benefits for patients.”
Dr Andrew Wardley, consultant medical oncologist at Christie Hospital, Manchester, where Mrs Bradford and Mrs Cook received their first Herceptin treatments, said: “These exciting results add to the substantial body of evidence of trastuzumab as the foundation of care for HER2-positive breast cancer.”
A total of 228 patients with HER2-positive breast cancer took part in the trial - 115 patients received chemotherapy plus Herceptin for one year, and 113 patients received chemotherapy alone pre-surgery.
By Sue Austin
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