High hopes for Herceptin in inflammatory breast cancer

Trastuzumab [Herceptin], a monoclonal antibody targeting the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), is effective in the treatment of HER2-positive inflammatory breast cancer, according to new data presented at the 14^th Annual European Cancer Conference (ECCO 14) [Barcelona, Spain; September 2007]. Results from the NOAH study demonstrated complete disappearance of the breast tumour in almost three times as many inflammatory breast cancer patients receiving trastuzumab, compared with patients receiving chemotherapy alone. Furthermore, in a separate study, the addition of trastuzumab to chemotherapy was shown to significantly improve the pathological complete response rate in patients with inflammatory breast cancer.