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	PROFILES

Interview length: 22 minutes

Who: Stephanie Grimes, diagnosed with breast cancer and given 2 months to live a little more than 15 months ago. Grimes, 47, is an aerobics instructor, personal trainer and single mother of a 16 year old son, is battling a particularly aggressive form of the disease, HER2-positive breast cancer. She was not considered a candidate for surgery

What: Characterized by aggressive growth and a poor prognosis, HER2-positive breast cancer is caused by the presence of excessive numbers of a gene called HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor-2) in tumor cells and occurs in approximately 25 percent of women with breast cancer. Women with HER2-positive breast cancer have unique needs and some feel isolated in their fight against this cancer.

 Why: Grimes learned about and enrolled in a clinical trial developed and based on basic and clinical research done by Dr. Dennis Slamon at UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center. Because she was HER-2 positive, the molecularly targeted therapy pairing Herceptin, which targets the mutation that makes Grimes’ cancer so dangerous with another targeted therapy called Avastin could possibly help her in her fight.

Grimes' Status: Today, tests indicate that Grimes’ cancer is gone. Scans that previously showed a lumpy mound of tissue that didn’t even resemble a breast now show what appears to be normal tissue without a hint of cancer.

About the Clinical Trial: In a revolutionary new study, cancer center researchers at UCLA were pairing Herceptin with another targeted therapy called Avastin, an angiogenesis inhibitor that works by cutting off the independent blood supply that tumors need to grow and spread. The two therapies were given in combination without chemotherapy, a leading-edge approach intended to directly target the cancer cells and spare patients from the debilitating side effects that accompany chemotherapy – nausea, hair loss, low blood counts, infection and fatigue.

Dr. Slamon says,"The Avastin/Herceptin study represents the next generation of studies researchers are working on at UCLA, clinical trails that take chemotherapy out of the mix but have the same or an even better result."

More Information: cancer.mednet.ucla.edu

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