El tratamiento con Herceptin (trastuzumab), aplicado durante un año después de la quimioterapia, aumenta las posibilidades de supervivencia de las mujeres con cáncer de mama en fase inicial, según el artículo que publica "The Lancet".
Entre el 15% y el 25% de las pacientes con cáncer de mama en fase inicial son portadoras del gen HER2 alterado, sobre el que actúa el citado fármaco. Los autores del estudio, del Royal Marsden Hospital de Londres, evaluaron el efecto del medicamento sobre la supervivencia de las mujeres a dos años.
Cerca de 1.703 pacientes fueron aleatorizadas para ser tratadas con Herceptin un año después de ser sometidas a radioterapia o cirugía, mientras que 1.698 recibieron placebo. Al finalizar el estudio los datos revelaron un mayor número de muertes en el grupo placebo, una ventaja de supervivencia del 2,7% después de 3 años.
Este fármaco, según los autores, ha demostrado que es capaz de ayudar a sobrevivir a las mujeres con cáncer de mama temprano en un período de tiempo "relativamente" corto, algo que "potencia y subraya la necesidad de desarrollar terapias especificas referidas al cáncer de mama y similares".
Lancet 2007; 369:29-36
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