Anthracyclines Improve Survival in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Patients

Randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that treating early breast cancer with anthracycline-based chemotherapy improves disease-free and overall survival rates more than non-anthracycline-based regimens. However, the studies have demonstrated that anthracyclines may slightly increase the risk of heart damage and leukemia. Given these side effects, the greatest benefi t of these regimens may be in women with breast tumors that overexpress HER2 — a gene that is often amplifi ed in tumors that respond to anthracyclines.