Researchers working in an extensive international Phase I/II trial of the treatment have reported that the addition of Neratinib to Taxol has managed to produce very promising results in treatment response rates of women suffering from metastatic, HER2+ form of breast cancer.

About 20-25% of breast cancers lead to over-expressing of HER2, and this leads to an aggressive and increased growth of cancerous cells and a breast cancer prognosis which is much worse than before. As of now, Herceptin is the only FDA approved drug which is specifically used for treatment of HER2+. Neratinib, on the other hand, is an experimental oral drug which targets HER2 as well as HER4.

To study the effects of the new treatment, two separate studies were carried out, and in both the studies, nearly 80% of the women on combination treatment were alive and relatively healthy after a follow-up of up-to 5 years.

Details of the researcher and clinical trials were presented at the 2009 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.