New hope for patients with less common breast cancer
Results from the study, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology, are expected to be submitted to regulators and could soon establish a new first-line therapy for people with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer -- the advanced stage of a form that comprises 15–20 percent of all breast cancer cases.
HER2-positive cancers are fueled by an overactive HER2 gene, which makes too much of a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 that helps cancer cells grow and spread.
Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body live around five years.
"Seeing such a striking improvement was really impressive to us -- we were taking a standard and almost doubling how long patients could have their cancer controlled for," oncologist Sara Tolaney, chief of the breast oncology division at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, told AFP.
The current standard of care, known as THP, combines chemotherapy with two antibodies that block growth signals from the HER2 protein. The new approach uses a drug called trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), an antibody attached to a chemotherapy drug.
'Smart bomb'
This "smart bomb" strategy allows the drug to target cancer cells directly. "You can bind to the cancer cell and dump all that chemo right into the cancer cells," explained Tolaney.
"Some people call them smart bombs because they're delivering chemo in a targeted fashion -- which is how I think we're able to really increase efficacy so much."
Common side effects included nausea, diarrhea and a low white blood cell count, with a less common effect involving lung scarring.
T-DXd is already approved as a "second-line" option -- used when first-line treatments stop working. But in the new trial, it was given earlier, paired with another antibody, pertuzumab.
In a global trial led by Tolaney, just under 400 patients were randomly assigned to receive T-DXd in combination with pertuzumab, thought to enhance its effects.
A similar number received the standard THP regimen. A third group, who received T-DXd without pertuzumab, was also enrolled -- but those results haven't yet been reported.
44 percent risk reduction
At a follow-up of 2.5 years, the T-DXd and pertuzumab combination reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 44 percent compared to standard care.
Fifteen percent of patients in the T-DXd group saw their cancer disappear entirely, compared to 8.5 percent in the THP group.
Because this was an interim analysis, the median progression-free survival -- meaning the point at which half the patients had seen their cancer return or worsen -- was 40.7 months with the new treatment, compared to 26.9 months with the standard, and could rise further as more data come in.
Tolaney said the results would be submitted to regulators around the world, including the US Food and Drug Administration, and that future work would focus on optimizing how long patients remain on the treatment, particularly those showing complete remission.
© 2025 AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
17 hours ago
- France 24
The promise and peril of a crewed Mars mission
That political momentum, coupled with SpaceX chief Elon Musk's zeal, has breathed new life into a cause long championed by Red Planet advocates -- even as major obstacles remain, including Trump and Musk's latest feud. Why go? As NASA writes in its Moon to Mars blueprint, "exploration of the cosmos remains a great calling for humanity." A mission to Mars would pursue scientific objectives like determining whether Mars ever hosted life and charting the evolution of its surface, as well as answering broader space physics questions -- such as the history of the Sun through studying Martian soil. Geopolitics also looms large, as Trump has pledged to "plant the American flag on the planet Mars and even far beyond," invoking the "unlimited promise of the American dream." Critics, however, say cuts to NASA's science budget and the cancellation of key projects -- including the return of rock samples collected by the Perseverance rover -- are undermining the research mission. "The purpose of exploration is not just to go somewhere," Nobel-winning astrophysicist John Mather told AFP. "This is not a tourist thing. This is a fundamental knowledge thing." - Getting there - Musk is betting SpaceX's future on Starship, the largest rocket ever built, despite fiery failures in its nine test flights. He's aiming for an uncrewed launch by late 2026, timed with the next favorable Earth-Mars alignment. But the timeline is widely seen as optimistic: Starship has yet to land its upper stage or demonstrate in-orbit refueling -- both essential for deep space travel. Some experts believe the system is fundamentally sound, while others say it's too soon to judge. "A lot of the pertinent and relevant technical information... is not known to us," Kurt Polzin, chief engineer for NASA's space nuclear propulsion project, told AFP. He backs Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP), which uses fission to heat hydrogen and generate thrust. NTP delivers "a lot of power in a very small package," Polzin said, eliminating the need for orbital refueling or fuel production on Mars. Astronauts would spend seven to nine months in a cramped spacecraft, exposed to intense space radiation beyond Earth's magnetosphere. Ideas to improve radiation shielding range from passive methods, like using dense materials, to active concepts such as plasma fields that deflect radiation, while drugs are being developed to reduce cell damage. Without a system to simulate gravity -- such as rotational spin -- crews would also need grueling exercise routines to counteract muscle and bone loss. Mental health is another concern. Growing plants aboard -- more for morale than sustenance -- has proved beneficial on the ISS. Communication delays further complicate matters. On the station, real-time data has helped prevent an average of 1.7 potentially fatal incidents per year, said Erik Antonsen, chair of NASA's human systems risk board -- but such communication will not be possible en route to Mars. Life on Mars Once on the surface, the uncertainties grow. Probes and rovers have found hints -- organic molecules, seasonal methane -- but no definitive signs of life. If it ever existed, it likely died out long ago. Still, Earth's own "extremophiles" offer intriguing clues -- from fungi that harness Chernobyl's radiation for energy, to microbes that survived 500,000 years in frozen stasis. "If they can survive here in extreme environments, we have every reason to suspect they can be on Mars," said NASA astrobiologist Jennifer Eigenbrode at the recent Humans to the Moon and Mars Summit. And while NASA has decided nuclear fission will power surface operations, other choices -- from crop selection to habitat design -- remain open. "Mars has a 24-hour, 39-minute day -- that small difference creates strain, increases stress, and reduces sleep quality," said Phnam Bagley, a space architect who designs for comfort and crew well-being -- critical factors in preventing conflict. The first trip would be around 500 days on the surface, but long-term colonization raises deeper questions. For instance, scientists don't yet know whether mammalian embryos can develop in low gravity -- or what childbirth on Mars would entail. "I think it's really important to take that seriously," said NASA's Antonsen.
France 24
2 days ago
- France 24
Albania town where everything's coming up roses
"Here everything revolves around roses, from cooking with them to their medicinal virtues" -- everything is seen through rose-tinted glasses, joked biology teacher Ariana Nikolla. Since she was little, the 57-year-old has been delicately picking the petals of her favourite variety, "the Groom's Rose", named for its delicate scent. In Permet roses are a ritual -- the first gift to a would-be lover. And they have to be pink, symbolising love and fidelity. Every family cultivates dozens of rose varieties in their garden, including the highly perfumed Damask and Provence roses, making the town famous across the Balkans for its artisanal rose water. Yet it is almost impossible to buy -- it is just too valuable, say locals, who gift a few drops from time to time and jealously guard their reserves. 'Rose water is like love' "Rose water is like love, it must be carefully tended," said veteran maker Resmie Tuci. "The process of making high-quality rose water is difficult and meticulous. It requires very particular copper containers and you also have to use the right roses and select the ones with the most fragrant petals," said the 70-year-old. The traditional method, passed from one generation to the next, is listed in Albania's national inventory of intangible cultural heritage. First you stretch a cloth over a copper bowl laced with thread, itself placed inside a large, flat-bottomed basin filled with water. Then the hand-picked rose petals are carefully placed on the cloth and covered with a flat stone topped with hot ashes from a fire. The petals sweat underneath and yield up their precious rose water through condensation. "It's a process that takes hours," Tuci told AFP. "But every drop is precious," chimes in Nikolla, filling a small bottle with rose water, which she will put in a sunny spot for several weeks before it is ready. "It's as precious as gold," she added. - Sweet delights - Locals use it for its supposed benefits, from soothing irritated eyes to an anti-inflammatory cream to help calm itching. And, of course, in cooking. Eftali Qerimi, 63, swears by it. The almond rose water cakes she bakes in her workshop are unlike any other local "llokums". Made with only almond powder, sugar and rosewater, the rose-shaped fancies mark important events for families in the region. Considered lucky charms, they are served at birthdays, weddings and baby showers. With the women in her workshop, Qerimi produces up to 10 kilos of Turkish delights a day, which she sells at 50 euros a kilo. Occasionally she makes small ones shaped like baby feet -- a way, according to tradition, to wish newborns a long life. Between batches, the women make rose petal jam, its fragrance filling the workshop. "The rose is everything for us; it symbolises the heart, love and life's happiness," said Qerimi, who is hard at work with the tourism high season about to begin. "Tourists flock to the town and after the natural beauties" of the valley, with its famous gorges and natural park, "they also want to taste its culinary delights", she smiled.
France 24
2 days ago
- France 24
Sci-fi writer Charles Stross' dark take on Silicon Valley 'religion'
Beyond an exhilarating story, Stross' 2005 book "Accelerando" was a thought experiment with ideas like transhumanism, technological "singularity" and rationalism -- concepts that had been circulating in Silicon Valley from the late 1980s -- and which many believe still animate powerful figures like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. "I was basically trying to bottle up all the future shock I was living with... on the edge of a nervous breakdown from dealing with an exponential growth curve" as an overworked programmer at a dotcom-era startup, Stross told AFP. Originally published as a series of short stories, "Accelerando" went on to win a Locus Award, one of science fiction writing's major honours. The novel follows three generations living through a "singularity" -- a theorised moment when technological progress accelerates to a pace beyond which almost anything becomes possible. Among Stross' inspirations was "Extropians", a pre-social-media mailing list popular among techies that hosted discussions among "some interesting and very odd people... very much into self-improving AI, the singularity, cryonics, space colonisation... they had a strong libertarian bent," he remembers. "Extropians" would also inspire figures like Ray Kurzweil, futurist and Google "AI visionary", who Stross believes "strip-mined" the conversations there for his books predicting the singularity. Chapters of "Accelerando" track anarchic inventor Manfred, who struggles with relatable 21st-century problems like battles over digital copyright and remembering who and where he is without his smart glasses. Another follows his daughter Amber, who uploads her mind into a computer to set off for another star system in the memory banks of a tiny starship. The book also features Amber's son Sirhan, who lives in a solar system largely transformed into computing hardware to support ever-more uploaded minds and AIs. Silicon Valley religion Such out-there scenarios are central to what AI researcher Timnit Gebru and intellectual historian Emile Torres have dubbed "TESCREAL" -- short for "Transhumanism, Extropianism, Singularitarianism, Cosmism, Rationalism, Effective Altruism, and Longtermism". In a 2024 paper, they described this "bundle" as one of the "ideologies driving the race to attempt to build Artificial General Intelligence" smarter than humans -- and traced its roots back to "the Anglo-American eugenics tradition of the 20th Century". "TESCREAL is what you get when a bunch of relatively bright, technologically-interested former Christians... reinvent religion," Stross said. "Christianity is a template for syncretistic religions" -- belief systems "which pick and match (ideas) from all over the place and glom them together," he added. "TESCREAL is doing exactly the same thing with a bunch of technology-related memes." Some statements and projects of today's tech titans echo this complex of beliefs, which foresees humans evolving beyond their present form, achieving immortality -- perhaps by merging with AI -- and multiplying throughout the universe. Elon Musk, for example, has spoken about making humans a "multiplanetary" species, was one of the original backers of OpenAI's stated mission to develop "artificial intelligence (that) benefits all of humanity" and founded Neuralink, a brain implant startup that aims to one day "expand how we experience the world". And OpenAI boss Sam Altman mused in a 2017 blog post about when humans would "merge" with machines, a process he believed "has already started" and "is probably going to happen sooner than most people think". 'Escapist fiction, big ideas' Stross said that with the likes of Musk close to power in the Trump administration and the threat of climate change hanging over the world, he is "fleeing screaming from writing about the near future". With "reality around us going to hell in a handbasket," he sees his aversion to the present mirrored in readers' appetite for "cosy escapist stuff". "I'm an entertainer... although I've always tried to do entertainment by combining regular escapist fiction with some big ideas," Stross said. Two decades later, his writing is circling back to TESCREAL as he imagines a future where its promises go unrealised. "What if there is not a singularity but everybody believes in it?" he mused. "What if we get half-baked versions of the tech?" His current projects include a story in which humanity's far-future descendants "have religions... based on TESCREAL, and there are holy wars over who will be allowed to set the rules in the AI upload heaven that nobody's actually built yet."
