New clinical trial

sftfemme65

Well, I'm not too sure how new but new info to me.  I found it at clinicaltrials.gov and it is number 108. 

Here is a little info about the trial. 

Erlotinib Plus Chemotherapy for Treatment of Triple Negative Breast Cancer

This study is currently recruiting participants.
Verified by University of Kansas, September 2008

Sponsors and Collaborators:	University of Kansas Genentech
Information provided by:	University of Kansas
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT00491816

Detailed Description:

Twenty percent of women with breast cancer have triple negative breast cancer. The standard treatment for triple negative breast cancer is typically a combination of chemotherapy, surgery, +/- radiation therapy. When treated with standard therapy women with triple negative breast cancer have a worse long term outcomes as compared to women who do not have triple negative breast cancer. Triple negative breast cancer cells usually have a surface marker called EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor). Women whose breast cancer cells have the EGFR surface marker have worse long term outcomes as compared to women whose tumors do not have the EGFR marker. Erlotinib (Tarceva) targets EGFR and is currently used for treatment of other cancers like lung and pancreas. This study will assess a combination of chemotherapy with erlotinib in women with triple negative breast cancer.

For breast cancer patients who receive chemotherapy first and then get surgery, long-term survival is longer for women who do not have any microscopic cancer at the time of surgery. The primary objective of this study is to assess whether a combination of chemotherapy and erlotinib will result in no evidence of microscopic disease (pCR) at the time of surgery in greater than 20% of enrolled subjects. After completing all chemotherapy, patients will also receive maintenance erlotinib for 12 months. This is given to study the tolerability of maintenance Erlotinib and also to evaluate if maintenance erlotinib will decrease the rate of tumor recurrence

6cooks

Hi sftfemme65,

I see you live in Whichita, I live in Overland Park, KS and go to St Lukes Plaza. I was enrolled in a trial there with Taxotere/Avastin but stopped after one tx due to SE. I fininshed up 8 Taxols and started on FEC today. I wonder since I am at Plaza and not Univerisity I probably cant do this but boy since my other trial didn't work I sure would like too. I am having surgery in Dec maybe and I sure hope the chemo has made me pCR. So far it has shrunk from 3.8cm to 1 cm. so I am hopeful it will go away altogether! Thanks for the info

Marci

sftfemme65

Hi Marci,

I had surgery first and then treatment.  Reading that trial, makes me hope that even though I had surgery first it did not hurt me when it comes to beating this.  Avastin is kicking my butt now.  I am having horrible sinus pain and pressure in my head.  I have 3 more treatments to go.  You should ask your onc about this trial it sure couldn't hurt, right?

Teresa

VickiG

MDA has just opened a Tarceva trial for metastatic tri-neg EGFR pos; I have talked to them but they are not being very proactive about it.  I can have my slides sent to them to test for EGFR, but they won't do that until I have signed the consent in person ~ so they expect me to fly to Houston so they can watch me sign a piece of paper saying it's ok for them to test my slides to find out if I am even eligible.  It's hard enough finding trials we are eligible for, and then they make it hard to even TRY to participate... it's frustrating. 

pattypoo53

Does the EGFR mean the HER2+ breast cancer? Is that what this new drug targets? I am almost 5 years out from triple negative breast cancer. This is still so confusing.

Patty

FloridaLady

pattypoo...I think EGRF is just a protein they are now working with.

VickiG

Patty, it's a protein, but what they have found is that while only about 20% of the general population has it, approx. 80% of TNs do.  They already use Tarceva in lung & pancreatic cancer to block that protein, so now they are trying it on TNs who have it.  To me it is very encouraging because it is something that most TNs have in common rather than what we do NOT have in common w/ everyone else, maybe like Herceptin has been the key for HER2?