UCLA Health Advances Breakthrough Targeted Therapies for Breast Cancer
Targeted therapies are transforming the treatment of breast cancer, leading to significant improvements in both survival rates and patients' quality of life.
UCLA Health’s cancer research team has been a leader in this field for over 20 years, building on the success of their earlier innovations.
Herceptin (trastuzumab) was one of the first significant breakthroughs in breast cancer treatment. This was followed by the introduction of the CDK 4/6 inhibitor, palbociclib (Ibrance), which proved effective for women with advanced estrogen receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer.
More recently, trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) has shown improvements in progression-free survival when compared to standard chemotherapy for some patients with advanced breast cancer.
With the emergence of newer therapies and a deeper understanding of tumour biology, researchers have developed treatments that are not only more effective but also less toxic.
These treatments offer better survival rates for patients. UCLA’s team is committed to translating new research findings quickly from the lab to the clinic, aiming to improve clinical outcomes and increase cure rates.
