Monoclonal antibody therapies shine in breast cancer clinical trials.

ORLANDO—Over the years, a number of clinical trials have proved the worth of targeted therapies for some patients with cancer, but the treatments have generally not been as effective as standard-of-care chemotherapy regimens. Now, though, large clinical studies presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology held here in May have revealed that chemotherapy plus monoclonal antibodies against particular proteins involved in cancer progression offer improved progression-free and overall survival for women with early-stage or metastatic breast cancer compared with chemotherapy alone. The findings suggest that such targeted biologic agents could some day be considered a component of standard treatments in the fight against many forms of cancer.