Omnitarg (Genentech/Roche) success in Phase II Breast Cancer trial in combination with Herceptin and chemotherapy

In the Phase II NEOSPHERE study, published Online First in The Lancet Oncology, the addition of monoclonal antibody Omnitarg (pertuzumab) from Genentech/Roche, to standard therapy (trastuzumab (Herceptin) plus the chemotherapy drug docetaxel) for women with HER2-positive Breast Cancer improved the rate of complete tumor disappearance by over half after just four cycles, i.e. 12 weeks of treatment compared with the standard regimen alone. In approximately 46% of women receiving the new triple combination the tumor disappeared completely, compared with 29% of women given standard therapy, and 17% given pertuzumab plus trastuzumab without chemotherapy. The researchers observed that the new triple combination was well tolerated by all patients. Patients suffered no chemotherapy-related toxicities, indicating a potential possibility of treating some tumors without the use of chemotherapy. see "Efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant pertuzumab and trastuzumab in women with locally advanced, inflammatory, or early HER2-positive breast cancer (NeoSphere): a randomised multicentre, open-label, phase 2 trial". Dr Luca Gianni MD, et al. Dec 07, 2011 The Lancet Oncology. Omnitarg is currently in Phase III trials for HER-2 positive Breast Cancer