
“I was keen to go on a clinical trial. I wanted to try new cancer treatments and hopefully help future generations.”
This study is looking at a personalised treatment plan. It is for people with positive
.
It is open to people who have:
Doctors use a combination of chemotherapy and a to lower the risk of the cancer coming back.
They usually start this treatment before surgery. This is to see how well this works for your cancer. So after surgery they can personalise your treatment. The aim is to not give you any more treatment than you need.
One of the targeted drugs you might have if you have HER2 positive breast cancer is trastuzumab. This is a monoclonal antibody. It works by attaching to the HER2 receptor on the surface of the cancer cell. This stops the cancer from growing.
In this study researchers are looking at continuing trastuzumab after surgery for a shorter time than the standard time. It is only for people who have a low risk of their cancer coming back.
The aims of the study are to find out:
The following bullet points are a summary of the entry conditions for this study. Talk to your doctor or the study team if you are unsure about any of these. They will be able to advise you.
Who can take part
You may be able to join this study if all of the following apply.
Who can’t take part
You cannot join this study if any of these apply.
The trial team need 720 people to join.
You have trastuzumab for a total of 9 . This includes the cycles you had before surgery. For example if you had 3 cycles of trastuzumab before surgery you have another 6 cycles after surgery. This about 6 months of treatment.
You can have trastuzumab as a drip into a vein or an injection under the skin. You continue having it the same way as you did before.
You can have other standard treatment. This includes radiotherapy, bisphosphonates or hormone therapy.
During the study if your cancer comes back your doctor will talk to you about your treatment options.
Research samples
The team ask for a piece of the tissue sample (biopsy) from before you started chemotherapy. As well as a piece of the tissue sample from surgery after you had chemotherapy.
If your cancer comes back and you have a biopsy to confirm this the team will ask for a piece of this sample.
There are no extra hospital visits if you take part.
The study team monitor you during treatment and afterwards. Contact your advice line or tell your doctor or nurse if any side effects are bad or not getting better.
We have information about the side effects of trastuzumab.
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Dr Iain Macpherson
Institute of Cancer Research (ICR)
NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme
Freephone 0808 800 4040
“I was keen to go on a clinical trial. I wanted to try new cancer treatments and hopefully help future generations.”