Statistics and herceptin

 I finished Herceptin on May 13th, this year.  THought all was well...just dx'd with brain mets.  Haven't have bone, liver or lung scan since May.  Never expected this but I hope the the other body scans will be clear.  Only one thing at a time!

Below is a section of a E mail on another site.  It is from the drug company's product development division.  I have not researched this yet, but will ask at the Breast Clinic at MD Anderson next week when wife goes for treatment.

Oncologists at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center decided to see if Herceptin has since changed the reality of a HER2-positive prognosis.  They conducted a retrospective analysis of overall survival for more than 2,000 metastatic breast cancer patients treated at their hospital. The analysis, which they presented at ASCO, showed that, after controlling for patient and tumor characteristics, woman with HER2-positive disease who received Herceptin had a 44 percent reduction in the risk of death compared to women with HER2-negative disease. In other words, according to this analysis, with Herceptin treatment available, you are more likely to live longer if your tumors are HER2-positve than if they are HER2-negative.  Wow!  Thanks to Herceptin, what had been the really bad news, being HER2-positive, is now the lesser of two evils.  For many women, Herceptin turned the historical prognosis upside down.
Rewriting the Textbooks

Many of you have heard me say that our mission at Genentech is to rewrite the medical textbooks. I sometimes wonder if employees really, I mean really, believe that we not only can do that, but are doing that.  Robert Weinberg's oncology textbook "The Biology of Cancer," a very well-respected oncology research textbook, indicates that HER2-positive status 'is correlated with a poor prognosis for the breast cancer patient.'

 
Overall Survival by Trastuzumab Treatment Groups: According to a retrospective study by oncologists at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, with Herceptin treatment, women with HER2-positive breast cancer had a 44 percent reduction in the risk of death compared to women with HER2-negative breast cancer.
Thanks to Herceptin, that text, currently in its first edition, also says, 'Use of the Herceptin antibody has resulted in extension of the lifespan of breast cancer patients whose tumors overexpress HER2 protein.' For the next edition, perhaps Dr. Weinberg will add something like, 'so much so that women with HER2-positive cancer who are treated with Herceptin now have a better prognosis than women with HER2-negative cancer.'
Of course, with the approval of Avastin earlier this year for the treatment of HER2-negative breast cancer, and with other ways we're targeting HER2 and related receptors, we're working hard to improve survival for either form of breast cancer, and to make the prognosis less frightening for all breast cancers.
It's important to consider that the study by the M.D. Anderson oncologists looked only at metastatic disease, not at adjuvant disease, which is where I'm convinced we have the greatest opportunity to improve survival. I'm looking forward to analyses of the accumulating long-term data on Herceptin, which was approved in 2006 for treating HER2-positive breast cancer in the adjuvant setting; and also for data on Avastin, which we and Roche are currently investigating in Phase III clinical trials for the adjuvant treatment of HER2-negative breast cancer.  I'm hopeful that we will begin to see data that will allow us to use that elusive word: 'cure.'
We caused the rewriting of many a textbook when we first launched Herceptin 10 years ago.  Now, as we learn more and more about the continued impact of Herceptin, additional textbooks need updating. With the many approaches we are taking to fight breast and other cancers, as well as our work in immunology, neurobiology and infectious disease, I'm excited that we're going to continue to make medical textbooks out-of-date. 

My stepfathers work does all the printing for genentech.  He had to meet with all the exectutives last month and he told them about me.  They gave him the number of one of the Drs who works with herceptin to talk to about my case.  She said how amazing the results were of herceptin outcomes, and how there is soon to be a new better herceptin   Well i'm not sure exactly how they described it, but they were extremely encouraging, i think they said super herceptin? 

It makes me happy to know there is Herceptin and it has been so successful in this disease.   There have to be side effects when you put such powerful things into your body, but the eventual outcome outweighs them - in MY opinion.  The body is a marvelous wonder and the more we know, the more amazing it is.  

Hugs and Blessings,  Nancy 

I am also on Herceptin.  I go to Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.  I asked my doctor if it has her/neu +++++ and she said at Rush it is either Her/Neu or it isn't.  She said that they don't classify it any other way, and that herceptin is just the drug to fight it.  I am very thankful for the Herceptin, and the fine doctors that I have!

I am breathing a sigh of relief that you changed your mind Bonnie.  I have been told as a HER2+ patient that herceptin is the MOST important thing for me right now.  I found out today my last one will be Jan 2. I get the herceptin alone now every 3 weeks.  I had it with my chemo from Dec 2007 until March... I can say that the chemo and the herceptin together shrunk my tumor to nothing in just a few treatments.  I cannot understand still why your dr would advise against it unless your heart  scan results are really bad.  They do periodic muga scans to make sure everything is okay, I have one tomorrow as a matter of fact. 

The only side effect I've had with Herceptin is a drippy nose for a couple of days post-treatment.  It's sooo minor, it's barely worth mentioning.  I'm sure you'll do fine.

I get the drippy nose as well forgot to mention that.  I can't wait to watch the movie either!  

Hi all,

I think we should all check in after or during the movie Saturday night just to give each other hugs..:)

Love

Laura

me too, and I totally understand! I wish I could come over.. but it would take 10 hrs to get there...lol..... my mom is in the hospital... and I will probably sit here and watch it alone... hubby will watch... but it might be too hard for him...

longggg story...... Just look at it like... a savior... some time bought here... I will cry happy tears I am sure!

LOL... my ocno would NEVER let me travel now.... heck, I cannot even go into the hospital to see mom.... But hang on to that voucher.....:) Told Todd we WERE coming to TX at some point !!!

Whaoooo whaooooo..... always need to hear that!

Thanks.. my mom should be able to come home tomorrow. She has COPD and has or "had" 15 pds of fluid they got out of her in the past few days. I feel so bad for her. She is only 64 and on oxygen the rest of her life. Smoking. She quit when she was 50 ish. , but she was a HUGE smoker... 2-3 packs a day and now the emphysema is pretty bad.

I hope you all have a great weekend.. I am going to spend it chillin' with the hubby... We have lived in this home 14 yrs and the boys ( sons) destroyed the doors. We have 18 doors. So hubby has replaced 2 so far and 16 to go..LOL... he might start that job up again this weekend. He wants to get all the doors and frames done by next spring. Then , I suppose we'll talk carpet...LOL  If we did not live on 3 acres in a really great spot.. I"D JUST MOVE!! LOL..

Take Care all! I look forward to a discussion after the Lifetime movie Sat!

Laura

I know what you mean... as I get the herceptin.. I just stare at it... in awe.... I even took a picture of the bag and put it on my blog....:)