Hi all, not sure if this is the best section to post this question, but was wondering if any of you ladies have heard of the new her2+ drug pertuzamub? if anyone has or knows anyone who has been involved in trials of this drug. I might have an opprtunity to take part in a trial involving it, this is the second time i have been offered this chance and as i have just had four treatments of tax with herceptin which hasn’t worked, am now seriously considering it. it’s still a very new drug which is still in early stages of trial, the thought of it frightens me but as the herceptin isn’t working there is not a lot else available for her2+. I would appreciate some feedback on what you all think of trials and info if anyone has any knowledge of this to share.
I’m considering a trial myself at the moment - it would be a huge commitment of time, involving frequent travel to the US, and very expensive - but with a potentially huge upside. So I am also compiling a list of questions to help me decide. It’s extremely difficult, so I really feel for you having to make such an important decision.
Top of my list is whether there is a placebo arm - I wouldn’t enter a trial if there was a risk of being given a placebo, and whether existing therapies (in my case hormonals and bisphosphonates) can be continued (in my case they can). I would also want to know what would be the alternative, and what success rate that usually has - although you suggest for Her2+ there isn’t much else to try.
(Incidentally this is off topic - but there was a very interesting diet trial that had implications for HER + cancers - I will PM you the link).
I haven’t been here for a while but I think I may be able to help you a little. My wife took part in a pertuzumab trial from October 2009 to March 2010 as part of the CLEOPATRA study where we live in Germany. Pertuzumab is now in Phase III trials i.e. it has been proved to be more or less safe (so not 100%…individual reactions can vary) and in the Phase II trial in Barcelona up to 23% of patients went into remission and about a further 15% had stable results. So it is a promising drug (I use the word “promising” here very deliberately).
My wife’s trial was “double-blind” so neither she nor the hospital knew for sure if she was getting pertuzumab or only herception and doxetaxel. The trial doctor was, however, fairly convinced that she got pertuzumab as well because she got a slight rash, which is one of pertuzumab’s side effects.
At the end of the 6 months my wife had slight progession in her lung mets so she had to stop - she switched to herceptin, tamoxifen and zoladex after an MX and has been NED since April 2010 apart from a local recurrence in February this year.
If you want any more information I’ll be pleased to help.
Thanks so much for the info on pertuzamub trial, nobody else seems to know much about it. I’m hoping i’ll get it as herceptin and docetaxol together didn’t work for me. I’m seeing the consultant who is running the trial on thurs, trying to compile my list of questions to ask so if you can think of anything please let me know. I thought it was going to be a blind trial but when I read the info it doesn’t mention that, just that 50% will be randomly selected by computer to recieve the new drug, so maybe I will actually know if I’m getting it, will ask on thurs.
How is your wife doing now? I hope the treatment she is on is working well for her.
Glad to have been able to help a little. My wife is doing very well, thank you. She had a CT on Thursday because her onc was worried about a lymph node at the base of her neck - it came back all clear (as a supplement to a post I made elsewhere - as usual she was told the result within about 30 mins. of the scan - why can’t all radiologists do that?). The lymph node is probably still enlarged due to a virus she picked up on a plane in June.
So the current treatment is working very well.
Pertuzumab is a drug that could add another weapon to the Her2 arsenal alongside herceptin. It was pretty bearable in terms of side effects - as I mentioned before, just a rash like a bit of acne - but then everyone is an individual and reacts differently.
I remember seeing a time-limited web video of a conference where they had high hopes for pertuzumab as another option and in July Roche, the producer, has applied to have the drug approved because the results are good enough to warrant this. So it is definitely worth trying.