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U.S. NEWS Thursday 17 May 2018

Shorter drug treatment OK for many breast cancer patients

Many women with a com- whose growth is aided by a the disease. Only 4 percent be changed. Doctors also
mon and aggressive form faulty HER2 gene, as 15 per- on the shorter treatment want to see results pub-
of breast cancer that is cent to 20 percent of cases dropped out due to heart lished, and to study them
treated with Herceptin are. It was later approved problems versus 8 percent to see if certain groups of
can get by with six months for treatment of those can- of those treated for a year. women need longer treat-
of the drug instead of the cers in earlier stages, too, "It's great news" for patients, ment. Herceptin is given
usual 12, greatly reducing based on studies that had said the study leader, Dr. through an IV every three
the risk of heart damage tested it in patients for 12 Helena Earl of the University weeks; a year of it costs
it sometimes can cause, a months. That guess, that of Cambridge in England. $34,000 to $40,000 in Eng-
study suggests. the drug should be taken Earl has consulted for Her- land and about $70,000
It's good news, but it comes for a year, became the ceptin's maker, Roche. The in the U.S. In December, a
nearly two decades after standard of care. company had no role in copycat competitor known
the drug first went on the But the drug can hurt the the study. as a biosimilar was ap-
market and many patients heart's ability to pump. That "There's no reason to not proved in the U.S. and al-
have suffered that side ef- often eases if treatment is immediately change prac- ready is used in some other
fect. stopped but the damage tice. The findings are per- countries. Dr. Harold Burst-
The study was done in can be permanent and suasive," said Dr. Richard ein, a breast cancer expert
the United Kingdom and lead to heart failure. Schilsky, chief medical of- at Dana-Farber Cancer In-
funded by UK government Some studies tested shorter ficer for the oncology so- stitute in Boston, said short- This undated image made
available by F. Hoffmann-
grants. Results were re- use, but results conflicted. ciety. Most of Herceptin's er treatment may increase La Roche shows a vial of the
leased Wednesday by the The new study is the largest cancer-fighting benefit access to the drug in coun- company's Herceptin medi-
American Society of Clini- so far, and involved more seems to come in the early tries where many women cation. According to a study
cal Oncology and will be than 4,000 women with months of use, he said. can't afford it now, but that released on Wednesday, May
presented at the group's early-stage cancers who Others said that because in the U.S., "my guess is that 16, 2018, many women with a
meeting next month. were given usual chemo- so few women have died or people will continue to aim common and aggressive form
Herceptin transformed therapy plus Herceptin for relapsed after being treat- for a year of treatment" be- of breast cancer that is treated
with Herceptin can get by with
care of a dreaded disease either six or 12 months. ed with the drug, longer fol- cause of lingering concerns six months of the drug instead
when it was approved in After four years, about 90 lowup may be needed to that longer use is better, as of the usual 12, greatly reduc-
1998 for women with ad- percent of both groups make sure the findings hold a smaller, previous study ing the risk of heart damage it
vanced breast cancers were alive without signs of up before guidelines should suggested.q can cause.

Cleanup underway a day after powerful storms pound Northeast

rain and marble-sized hail, ity customers in New York without power for days." derstorms created a small
leaving at least four peo- were without power mid- The storms downed trees weather-generated tsuna-
ple dead and more than day Wednesday. and power lines across the mi off the New Jersey coast.
200,000 homes and busi- In Connecticut, the state's region. Several lightning Known as a meteotsunami,
nesses without power. two major utilities reported strikes led to structure fires it resulted in fluctuating wa-
Connecticut officials said 88,500 customers without in New Jersey and Massa- ter levels for several hours.
two people in New Fair- electricity Wednesday af- chusetts. Weather officials But there were no reports of
field and Danbury were ternoon, down from a high confirmed two tornadoes damage from the abnor-
Chris Fletcher,left, and his wife killed Tuesday in separate of 120,000 outages. Gov. in Putnam County, an EF2 mally high tides reported in
Noel survey the storm dam-
age to their home in Cheshire accidents when trees fell Dannel Malloy said dam- with peak winds of 110 mph areas from Perth Amboy in
with a Cheshire volunteer fire- on their trucks, including age was being assessed and an EF1 with peak winds New Jersey to Delaware's
fighter on Wednesday, May a woman whose 3-year- across the state for possible of 100 mph. New York's Fenwick Island.
16, 2018. old child escaped injury. disaster declarations, with Central Hudson Gas & Elec- Roads in many towns
In New York, falling trees the most hard-hit areas be- tric Corp. reported 78 mph were impassible and some
NEW YORK (AP) — Residents in Newburgh claimed the ing in southwestern Con- wind gusts on Tuesday and schools canceled classes
in the Northeast cleaned lives of an 11-year-old girl in necticut. "There is a tremen- about 1,000 lighting strikes on Wednesday due to the
up Wednesday, a day after a parked car and a wom- dous amount of damage," per hour. damage. Airlines also can-
powerful storms pounded an who was driving. he said. "I think there are The National Weather Ser- celed and delayed flights
the region with torrential More than 157,000 util- going to be a lot of people vice said the strong thun- in and out of the region.q