Chemotherapy in combination with Trastuzumab is better than chemotherapy alone in HER2 positive breast cancer patients

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. It is also the principal cause of death from cancer among women globally. Despite the high incidence rates, majority of the diagnosed breast cancer patients are still alive 5 years after their diagnosis, which is due to proper detection and treatment. Objective: To evaluate the survival gains of trastuzumab with standard chemotherapy in patients with HER2+ metastatic breast cancer. Methods: This multicenter Randomized Control Trial (RCT) study had conducted in the different hospitals and clinics in Rajshahi city since January 2013 to December 2015. A total of 130 women having HER2 positive breast cancer in the stage II and stage III, 52 in TAC (Taxotere, Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide), 61 in TAH (Taxotere, Doxorubicin, Herceptin/ Trastuzumab) and 17 women in placebo arm, were allocated randomly. Data on background characteristics and treatment outcomes including survival status of the intervention groups were collected by a preformed data collection sheet. Kaplan-Meier curves were constructed for the survival distribution of the different intervention groups. The log rank test was applied to compare the survival distribution among the intervention groups. Results: The overall median survival of the study subjects was 25.57 months. The median survival for the TAC, TAH and placebo were 23.33, 28.51 and 20.40 months respectively. Using TAH provided 5.18 months more survival over TAC. The survival distributions among the intervention groups were statistically significant (p=0.011). Conclusion: Combination of traditional standard chemotherapy and trastuzumab which is associated with fewer side effects, is an appealing better care for the breast cancer patients of stage II and stage III with HER2 positive than the traditional standard chemotherapy regimens alone.