GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s Tykerb fights breast cances that has spread to brain

A new research showed that GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s drug Tykerb combined with chemotherapy can fight breast cancer that has spread to the brain.

It was said at San Antonio breast conference that 20 percent of patients whose cancer had spread to their brain saw their brain tumors cut more than in half, and 37 percent of patients had them shrink 20 percent or more.

An extension to an earlier Phase II study involving 49 patients showed 20 percent of those receiving a mix of Tykerb and Roche's Xeloda experienced at least a 50 percent volume reduction in measurable brain metastases.

Despite the fact that very few drugs can provide such results, the stuffy was relatively small, and more data is needed.