This trial showed that trastuzumab emtansine was no better than taxane chemotherapy for HER2 positive stomach cancer that had spread.
Phase 2
In the
phase 2 part of the trial, the researchers were looking for the best way to give trastuzumab emtansine. They recruited 182 people into 1 of 3 treatment groups at
random, and:
- 70 people were in the group which had trastuzumab emtansine every 3 weeks
- 75 people were in the group which had trastuzumab emtansine every week
- 37 people were in the group which had taxane chemotherapy (either docetaxel or paclitaxel)
Results from this part of the trial showed that it was better to have trastuzumab emtansine every week, rather than every 3 weeks.
Phase 3
The
phase 3 part of the trial recruited another 233 people into 1 of 2 treatment groups at random, and:
- 153 people were in the weekly trastuzumab emtansine group
- 80 people were in the taxane chemotherapy group
Results
The research team analysed the results for people recruited during phase 2 and phase 3 of the trial together.
They looked at how long it was before the cancer started to grow. They found it was:
- 2.7 months for those who had weekly trastuzumab emtansine
- 2.9 months for those who had taxane chemotherapy
They also looked at how long people lived for and found it was:
- 7.9 months for those who had weekly trastuzumab emtansine
- 8.6 months for those who had taxane chemotherapy
Side effects
More than 9 out of 10 people who took part had at least 1 side effect. Some of the side effects were mild or short lived. But 6 out of 10 people who had trastuzumab emtansine and 7 out of 10 people who had taxane chemotherapy had more severe side effects.
The most common side effects of trastuzumab emtansine were a drop in red blood cells and blood clotting cells (platelets). The most common side effects of taxane chemotherapy was a drop in white blood cells and red blood cells.
Conclusion
The trial team concluded that trastuzumab emtansine was no better than taxane chemotherapy for HER2 positive stomach cancer that had spread. They wonder if trastuzumab emtansine may work better if people have it in combination with another treatment.
When a trial shows a treatment isn’t useful for a particular group of patients it is still useful. It adds to our knowledge and understanding of cancer and how to treat it.
We have based this summary on information from the research team. The information they sent us has been reviewed by independent specialists (
peer reviewed 
) and published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team who did the research. We have not analysed the data ourselves.