A Few Facts About Herceptin

Below are some general facts about Herceptin. For more detailed information, please read our Herceptin Fact Sheet produced by Adis, "Herceptin in the Treatment of Early Aggressive Breast Cancer".

Every year in New Zealand around 2,500 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and 600 of these women have the aggressive HER2 positive breast cancer. HER2 positive breast cancer cells have too much of a protein that makes cancer cells grow and spread around the body faster.

Even with surgery and normal chemotherapy, only 50% of women with HER2 positive breast cancer will be alive 10 years after diagnosis compared to 80% of women across all breast cancers.

This aggressive form of cancer tends to affect women at a younger age.

Herceptin is an antibody designed specifically to deactivate the HER2 protein to stop the cancer from growing and spreading.

In New Zealand, Herceptin is fully funded for patients whose cancer has already spread beyond the breast and into other parts of the body. Once breast cancer has advanced in this way it cannot be cured but Herceptin treatment can extend life.

When the cancer is in the early stage (present only in the breast and underarm lymph nodes), treatment can provide a cure, allowing the woman to have a normal life expectancy.

Studies involving over 12,000 women around the world have shown that when used to treat early breast cancer, a 12 month course of Herceptin reduced the chance of death by 33% 2 to 3 years after treatment. The risk of the cancer returning was reduced by up to 50%.

Since last year, 12 month Herceptin treatment has been funded for women with early breast cancer in 24 OECD countries including Australia, the UK, Canada, Ireland, France and even Mexico and Greece.

As of July 1 2007, PHARMAC will fund an unproven 9 week course of Herceptin with taxane chemotherapy for women with early stage HER2 positive breast cancer. PHARMAC has refused to fund the world standard of 12 months. Eight women have launched a Judicial Review of PHARMAC's decision process (also July 1 2007). 

Our women deserve the same life-saving treatment available to those in other countries. We want them to be here to support their families and to continue to be productive members of our communities.