Some breast cancers are hormone sensitive and proliferate in the presence of oestrogen. But in trials where women with this type of breast cancer were given pre-surgical treatment to block hormones only half were found to respond. For this reason many doctors use chemotherapy prior to surgery, which can have negative side effects and cause substantial mortality.
A receptor called EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) is present on some hormone sensitive breast cancers and is associated with poor prognosis and failure to respond to hormone-blocking therapy. Charles Coombes (Imperial College and Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK) and colleagues tested whether inhibiting this receptor with a drug called gefitinib might suppress breast cancer cell proliferation. They recruited 56 postmenopausal women with breast cancer that was hormone sensitive and positive for EGFR from hospitals in London. 27 women were assigned gefitinib and an aromatase inhibitor called anastrozole (Arimidexâ) and 29 were assigned gefitinib and placebo for 4-6 weeks prior to receiving surgery. Tumours were reduced in size by 30-99% in 12 of 22 assigned gefitinib and anastrozole and in 14 of 28 patients assigned gefitinib and placebo.
Professor Coombes comments: "Gefitinib, combined with an aromatase inhibitor, might have a role in the neoadjuvant treatment of breast cancer by reducing the size of the tumour more rapidly. Studies are now being designed to assess this approach."
Contact: Professor C Coombes, Cancer Cell Biology Section, Head of Department of Cancer Medicine, Imperial College, Hammersmith Hospital, 6th Floor, MRC Cyclotron Building, Du Cane Road, LONDON W12 0NN, UK. T) 0208 383 5828 c.coombes@ic.ac.uk / secretary: suzy.liu@ic.ac.uk
Note: The posted PDF (available to journalists only) and original press release for this article, posted between 10 and 11 am on Monday, May 16, 2005, contain incorrect information. The results should read: Tumours were reduced in size by 30-99% in 12 of 22 assigned gefitinib and anastrozole and in 14 of 28 patients assigned gefitinib and placebo. A full correction will be issued in due course.
Journal
The Lancet Oncology