Cancer healed without surgery or chemo? Revolutionary research result in breast cancer treatment

Combination of two drugs works quickly and effectively against breast cancer
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Western countries and the cancer most women die of. Physicians have long been looking for ways to treat breast cancer better. Now, the experts found that a combination of two drugs can shrink tumors and even destroy them completely.

Every year, countless women die as a result of breast cancer. But it could be that women with cancer can soon be better treated. Researchers found that combining two drugs can help fight or destroy tumors quickly. The physicians presented the results of their study at the "10. European Breast Cancer Conference "in Amsterdam.

New treatments could spare many women chemotherapy
Breast cancer is a disease that particularly threatens women in Western countries. At this form of cancer, more women die than from any other cancer, the researchers say. Men, however, are rarely affected by the disease. Physicians have long been looking for ways to treat the disease more effectively. Now the experts found in an investigation that the combination of two drugs can help treat the disease better in the future. Cancer tumors shrink or even become completely destroyed when treated with the drugs. This could save many women chemotherapy in the future, the scientists add.

New therapy achieves clear results after eleven days
In their study, the physicians treated women who had breast cancer with a combination of trastuzumab (the generic name for Herceptin) and lapatinib. After an eleven-day treatment, it was clearly observed that the tumors began to shrink, explain the experts. In some cases, the tumors even disappeared completely. This potential for treatment could have a disruptive effect on cancer treatment. Patients could be treated as effectively within eleven days that their tumors disappear completely. It may not even require subsequent chemotherapy, explained Prof. Nigel Bundred of the University of Manchester during the presentation of the data.

All breast cancer patients should get access to the medication
For some patients, the effect of this combination of drugs will be amazing, meaning that they can completely dispense with chemotherapy and the stressful side effects, the researchers say. While the tumors will not shrink in some patients, the medical profession would quickly notice and use other treatment options. Of course, more research needs to be done to find out more about the effects of the drugs, the researchers explain. This is particularly true because currently trastuzumab (Herceptin) is only available when used with chemotherapy. But all cancer patients deserve access to such clinically effective treatments, the experts add.

Study examined 257 women with HER2-positive breast cancer
It was unexpected to see such dramatic responses to trastuzumab and lapatinib treatment within eleven days, explains co-author Professor Judith Bliss of the Institute of Cancer Research in London. The study was conducted by researchers from Manchester University, the University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Cancer Research. The physicians examined 257 women with HER2-positive breast cancer. Initially, random women were given either trastuzamab, lapatinib, or no treatment. After evidence from other studies on the effectiveness of the combination of two drugs became known, the physicians changed the design of their study. Women now also received trastuzumab if they were assigned to the lapatinib group, say the experts.

Eleven percent of the women treated showed no biological signs of invasive tumors
Of the women who received both drugs, 17 percent had minimal residual disease. 11 percent of the women treated had no biological signs of invasive tumors in the breast. Of the women treated with trastuzumab alone, only three percent achieved a state of minimal residual disease or full recovery, say the physicians. HER2-positive breast cancer is more likely to return after treatment compared to other types of breast cancer. The condition is generally treated with surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and targeted anti-HER2 medication.

New treatment saves side effects and improves quality of life
In the United Kingdom, around 53,000 women are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer each year, and in up to 15 percent of these cases it is HER2-positive breast cancer. 11,500 women die each year in the United Kingdom from the disease. The results are very promising if they can survive in the long term, the scientists explain. Thus, we would have found a new way to treat HER2-positive breast cancer. As a result, some women may be spared chemo after surgery. So they would not be exposed to the strong side effects and have a better quality of life, the experts add. (As)