Breast cancer risk cut by 35% in new clinical trial
The data is likely to change how patients are treated following a diagnosis for advanced triple-negative breast cancer, one expert said.
After a median follow-up of 14 months, patients treated with Trodelvy, a so-called antibody-drug conjugate, and Keytruda went 11.2 months without their cancer progressing, a measure known as progress-free survival. That compared with PFS of 7.8 months for those given the standard treatment of chemotherapy and Keytruda, researchers said.
Advertisement
3 Trodelvy, in combination with Merck's immunotherapy Keytruda, lowered the risk of an aggressive type of breast cancer worsening by 35% when used as an initial treatment, according to new results.
REUTERS
Patients given the Trodelvy/Keytruda combination responded to the treatment for a median of 16.5 months, compared with 9.2 months for the chemo group, according to full results of the study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology scientific meeting in Chicago. The researchers said patients are still being followed to see if the regimen has an impact on overall survival.
Gilead previously said the Phase 3 study in 443 patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer whose tumors express PD-L1 – the protein targeted by drugs like Keytruda – had met its goal.
Advertisement
The findings suggest that the combination of Trodelvy and Keytruda 'will likely become a new front-line standard of care in this setting,' Dr. Jane Lowe Meisel, co-director of breast oncology at Emory University School of Medicine and a designated ASCO expert, said in a statement.
ASCO estimates that about 10% of breast cancers in the United States are triple-negative.
3 Patients given the Trodelvy/Keytruda combination responded to the treatment for a median of 16.5 months, compared with 9.2 months for the chemo group, according to the results.
Peakstock – stock.adobe.com
That tends to be more difficult to treat than hormone-sensitive subtypes, because it does not have the common biomarkers used to guide treatment, the tumors are often larger, and the recurrence rate is high.
Advertisement
The medical group said that about 40% of triple-negative breast cancers are also PD-L1 positive, making them candidates for Keytruda.
Antibody-drug conjugates like Trodelvy are designed to deliver an anti-cancer drug more precisely to malignant cells, causing less damage to healthy cells than chemotherapy.
3 Gilead is also conducting several other Trodelvy studies, including a trial of the drug as an initial treatment for triple-negative breast cancer patients who do not express PD-L1.
REUTERS
Serious side effects for Trodelvy included neutropenia, a condition caused by cancer treatments that lower levels of infection-fighting white blood cells, reported in 43% of patients, and diarrhea in 10%. In the chemotherapy group, the incidence of neutropenia was 45%, while 16% of patients had anemia and 14% had low blood platelet counts.
Advertisement
Trodelvy is already approved for patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer who had two or more prior therapies, and for previously treated hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer.
Gilead is conducting several other Trodelvy studies, including a trial of the drug as an initial treatment for triple-negative breast cancer patients who do not express PD-L1.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bain Capital-backed Heartflow valued at $2.27 billion in solid Nasdaq debut
By Rishab Shaju and Ateev Bhandari (Reuters) -Medtech firm Heartflow was valued at $2.27 billion on Friday, with its shares surging 47.4% in the Nasdaq debut, as the IPO market gathers momentum and outrides tariff worries. The shares opened at $28 and went as high as $31.5, signaling robust investor appetite for companies leveraging artificial intelligence for healthcare. Heartflow sold about 16.67 million shares at $19 each in its IPO on Thursday, raising $316.7 million. The Bain Capital-backed company's debut comes as expectations of a softer trade policy and lower interest rates boost investor sentiment, which had nosedived after U.S. tariffs in April stoked recession fears. The market sentiment reflects "nervous excitement", said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at IPO-focused research and ETFs provider Renaissance Capital. "We saw a spike in volatility last week, but at the same time stocks (are) flying up on AI-driven earnings blowouts." Space tech startup Firefly Aerospace and design software firm Figma saw stellar first-day reactions in recent days, strengthening prospects for tech-focused companies to go public. Heartflow's first-day pop could help boost market perception for other medtechs, which often rely on vast research and development expenditure, with clinical testing further pressuring the bottom line. Beta Bionics and Kestra Medical had solid debuts earlier this year, but are now trading below their IPO price, like most medtech IPOs of the past year. "If investors keep losing, they just won't show up and companies will struggle to raise IPO funding," Kennedy added, referring to underwhelming post-listing performance from several medtech IPOs in the past year. Founded in 2007, Heartflow helps physicians diagnose and treat heart disease. Its AI-enabled products can create a personalized 3D model of a patient's heart via a single specialized scan. The company's revenue rose 39% in the quarter ended March 31 from a year ago. Its losses, however, widened 55% to $32.35 million during the same period.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Prague zookeepers turn to puppets to parent baby vultures
Prague zookeepers turn to puppets to parent baby vultures PRAGUE (Reuters) -Zookeepers feeding two baby vultures in Prague are using a hand puppet designed to look like the chicks' parents, a technique they hope will ensure the birds learn to identify with other vultures - not humans. Staff at Prague Zoo had to start hand-feeding the lesser yellow-headed vultures when their parents stopped nesting. After using the approach with other birds, they quickly made a hand puppet that looks like an adult vulture's head. "If we raised (the bird) in direct contact with humans, it would become imprinted to humans, and then it would be difficult to breed that individual within the species," said Antonin Vaidl, Prague Zoo's curator of bird breeding. Human imprinting increases the risk of a chick struggling to build a relationship with a mate in adulthood. Hand puppets have previously been used with other bird species at the zoo including rhinoceros hornbills and Javan green magpies, with their design reflecting distinctive features such as a large colourful beak. Prague is one of three European zoos to breed the lesser yellow-headed vulture, also known as the savannah vulture. Solve the daily Crossword
New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
NYC officials claim worst of Legionnaires' disease outbreak is over — even as top doc says ‘we have more work to do'
The worst of the Legionnaires' disease outbreak that killed three people and sickened several dozen is over, Big Apple officials predicted Thursday – even as the city's top doc acknowledged 'we have more work to do.' At least 24 people remained hospitalized nearly two weeks after the cluster of pneumonia-like illnesses was first detected in Harlem, with five zip codes affected, city health officials said. 'Our expectation is that there's no further bacteria in the air at this point so we can expect the cases to go down,' interim Health Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse said at a news conference. 3 Cooling towers seen in Harlem amid the Legionnaires' disease outbreak in New York City on Aug. 6, 2025. REUTERS 'This is my top priority right now. Three deaths is unacceptable and we know we have more work to do.' Morse said 11 cooling towers had been scrubbed clean in order to stop the illness from spreading — but city officials wouldn't say which buildings had the troubled structures, arguing they didn't want to give anyone a false sense of security. 'I don't want anyone to be concerned that if they're in one building or another they may be more or less at risk,' Morse said. 'From our perspective, it's really important that everyone in the five zip codes understand that they may be at risk.' The areas where cases have been confirmed are in five Harlem zip codes: 10027, 10030, 10035, 10037, and 10039, along with the bordering communities, according to the city Department of Health. DOH officials said there were 81 confirmed as of Thursday – a slight uptick from the previous day. 3 A map of the initial Legionnaire's disease outbreak in New York City. People can catch Legionnaires' disease from bacterial droplets that come from water systems like cooling towers and are breathed in. It can take between 12 to 14 days from exposure to the droplets to start feeling sick, according to Morse. The disease isn't spread person-to-person, she noted. Morse cautioned people for now should remain vigilant if they start feeling sick, though she stressed the city has treated the cooling towers that tested positive for Legionella bacteria. Local elected officials on hand in front of the Adam Clayton Powell statue urged Harlem residents to seek medical help if they are beginning to feel under the weather. The illness can be treatable if caught early enough. 'This is not the time to say, let me just go to the grocery store and get some ginger ale and let me lay up somewhere,' Councilman Yusef Salaam said. 'This is the time for you to actually go and seek medical attention. That's how serious this is.' State Sen. Cordell Cleare, who represents the neighborhood, introduced legislation on Wednesday in hopes of limiting cases going forward. She wants cooling towers inspected twice a year instead of once and building owners to tackle detected maintenance problem within 24 hours instead of a 48-hour timeframe. 'Building maintenance shouldn't cost people their lives,' Cleare told The Post Thursday. 3 According to city health officials, the worst of the Legionnaires' disease outbreak is over. REUTERS 'Three deaths, one death is too many' the pol said at the press conference, adding, 'one of the things that's very important for us to do is examine and find out why this keeps popping up in black and brown communities.' Cleare also said she wants clarity on where the 11 troubled cooling towers are located in the area, but city officials haven't provided that information to her. City officials said they aren't identifying exact buildings because the issue is in the air — which could affect a wider area — and is not in the water of the buildings. The buildings' water is safe to bathe and cook with, the officials added.
