Perjeta Breast Cancer Drug Shows 'Unprecedented' Benefits For Extended Survival

First Posted: Sep 29, 2014 05:19 AM EDT
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A new breast cancer treatment by the Swiss drug maker Roche has increased median survival time for patients by an average of nearly sixteen months, according to health officials. The drug, known as Perjeta, was found to provide unprecedented success to fight the disease based on a recent clinical study.

The recent results are the longest to date for a medication used in the initial treatment for a metastatic breast cancer drug of any kind, according to the Diabetes Insider.

"These results are impressive," said Professor David Miles, a consultant medical oncologist at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, who led the study for Roche, via The Guardian. "They show a magnitude of survival benefit which we have never seen before in advanced breast cancer, let alone this particular type, previously regarded as having a poor prognosis and being difficult to treat."

The study results were presented at a medical conference in Madrid this Sunday, with previous studies conducted via Perjeta's unusual ability to actually prolong the lives of what had been previously considered terminal cancer patients.

The drug works in similar ways as Roche's Herceptin as it blocks the action of the protein HER2 that's responsible for many breast cancers. However, Perjeta's been found more successful for those with an abundance of the HER2 gene.

For women with a high breast density, the drug could prove particularly effective for them; these estimates range to about 8.3 percent of women aged 47 to 75.

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