Harvard-led study finds extending trastuzumab for 2 years does not significantly improve outcomes versus 1 year

One year of treatment with the targeted drug trastuzumab is as good as two years of treatment for women with HER2-positive early breast cancer who have already received initial treatment with surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy as needed, researchers have found. The HERA trial, which has been run by the Breast International Group since 2001--and led by researchers from the Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute--is an international, multi-center, phase III randomized study involving 5,102 women with early HER2-positive breast cancer. Details of the study were presented at the ESMO 2012 Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology in Vienna.

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Among the research institutions NCI funds across the United States, it currently designates 67 as Cancer Centers. Largely based in research universities, these facilities are home to many of the NCI-supported scientists who conduct a wide range of intense, laboratory research into cancer’s origins and development. The Cancer Centers Program also focuses on trans-disciplinary research, including population science and clinical research. The centers’ research results are often at the forefront of studies in the cancer field.