Trending News Today: Tucatinib Shows Positive Results in Breast Cancer Study

Results from the HER2CLIMB trial demonstrated that the addition of tucatinib to trastuzumab and capecitabine was superior to trastuzumab and capecitabine alone for the treatment locally advanced unresectable or metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 breast cancer, Seattle Genetics reported. According to the press release, the trial, which included 612 patients, met the primary endpoint of progression-free survival. The data showed that the addition of tucatinib to the regimen resulted in a 46% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death (hazard ratio (HR)=0.54 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.42, 0.71); p<0.00001).

A recent study showed that women, even with the same heart attack diagnosis as men, were half as likely to receive the recommended treatments, The American Journal of Managed Care reported. According to the article, the new trial used the troponin blood test to detect heart attacks, but with separate thresholds for men and women, in approximately 48,000 patients who were believed to have heart attack symptoms. Although the number of women diagnosed increased by 42%, the study found that recommended treatments, such as coronary revascularization, dual platelet therapy, and statins or preventive therapy, were still much more likely to be given to men, the article reported.

Genentech’s atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in combination with bevacizumab (Avastin) boosted survival in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have not received prior systemic therapy, Genentech reported. According to the press release, the phase 3 IMbrave150 study met both of its co-primary endpoints demonstrating statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) compared with standard-of-care sorafenib. Genentech expects to submit OS and PFS data in HCC to regulatory authorities globally, the article reported.