Women with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive early-stage breast cancer continue to benefit several years after completing Herceptin (trastuzumab) therapy, with results showing extended disease-free survival for these patients, Breast Research International (BIG) and Roche announced March 11 in Switzerland. Data from the study were presented at the International Conference on Basic Therapies for Early Stage Breast Cancer in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women, with more than 1 million new cases worldwide and nearly 400,000 deaths from breast cancer each year, and approximately 20-25% of breast cancer patients are HER2-positive. Herceptin is a humanized antibody that targets and blocks the function of HER2, a protein produced by a specific gene that potentially triggers cancer. Researchers treated patients enrolled in the study with 1 year of Herceptin adjuvant therapy (HERA) and 4 years of follow-up. The results showed that female patients treated with Herceptin had a 25 percent reduced risk of recurrence of the cancer they developed compared to those who did not receive Herceptin. After an average of 4 years of treatment observation, nearly 90% of female patients treated with Herceptin survived, and 4-year follow-up showed that nearly 79% of female patients treated with Herceptin remained cancer-free, a significant increase compared to 73% in the observation group; and that patients had good cardiac safety and tolerability. This analysis confirms the long-term safety of Herceptin. HERA is a large international phase III study conducted by BIG in collaboration with Roche. The study involved more than 5,000 patients and was designed to evaluate the benefit of adjuvant therapy with Herceptin in women with HER2-positive early-stage breast cancer. The primary endpoint of the study is disease-free survival, with secondary endpoints of overall survival and cardiac safety. The current analysis is focused on evaluating the efficacy and safety of receiving 1 year of Herceptin versus no Herceptin through a median follow-up study of 4 years from study enrollment. the HERA study is currently ongoing and final results are expected in 2011. ”These data are extremely important for breast cancer treatment.” HERA principal investigator and BIG chairman Martin K. Dr. Pickart commented, “HERA is the first of four major studies of Herceptin for HER2-positive early-stage breast cancer to demonstrate a long-term benefit for patients receiving 1 year of Herceptin treatment.”