Drugs from Roche Holding AG and Novartis AG that target different molecular drivers of breast cancer slowed tumor progression in separate studies that doctors say will change the way they care for patients. Research released yesterday at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium should alter the care of 80 percent of women with advanced tumors, said Jose Baselga, chief of oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Breast cancer is diagnosed in more than 230,000 women in the U.S. each year, making it the most common tumor type, and kills almost 40,000. Roche’s experimental drug pertuzumab delayed progression of metastatic cancer fueled by the HER2 protein for an extra 6.1 months when it was added to standard treatment with the company’s Herceptin and chemotherapy. Novartis’ Afinitor, approved for kidney and pancreatic cancer, slowed progression an additional 4.2 months when added to hormone treatment in women with treatment-resistant tumors driven by estrogen.
