FDA Expands Use Of Breast Cancer Drug
CBS News is one of many carrying the news about the FDA’s expanded approval of Herceptin for treating breast cancer.
The breast cancer drug Herceptin received expanded federal approval Thursday to include treatment of some women after they have undergone surgery.
In two clinical trials, women given the drug along with chemotherapy had fewer relapses in the three years after surgery — either to remove a lump or the whole breast — than those just given standard chemotherapy, the Food and Drug Administration said in announcing the additional approval. The drug is made by Genentech Inc. of South San Francisco, Calif.
In 1998, the FDA approved Herceptin to treat breast cancer after it had spread to other parts of the body. Thursday’s approval expands its use to women with cancer in the breast or lymph nodes that has been surgically removed, the FDA said.
Only patients with HER-2 positive tumors, and who do have heart failure or a weak heart, should be given the drug, also known as trastuzumab.