Breast Cancer Trial Looks to Set New Global Research Model
A new breast cancer study comparing Herceptin with Tykerb aims to develop a new model for global cancer research. The trial, dubbed ALTTO (Adjuvant Lapatinib and/or Trastuzumab Treatment Optimization), will track all care and data collection in a standardized format, regardless of where patients are being treated.
As part of the study, researchers will follow 8,000 participants in 50 different countries who use trastuzumab (Herceptin) and/or lapatinib (Tykerb). Investigators say the study aims to compare the effectiveness and safety of the drugs, and the benefits derived by taking them separately, in sequence or in tandem. Both agents, Herceptin and Tykerb, have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer. HER2-positive tumors, which are particularly aggressive, affect an estimated 20 to 25 percent of breast cancer patients. ALTTO differs from other trials, investigators say, as the first study to collect biological materials as they occur, rather than at a later period. The organizations participating in the trial include The Breast Cancer Intergroup of North America, which is funded by the National Cancer Institute, and the Breast International Group in Brussels, Belgium.
