Slamon paused for a theatrical moment before revealing the results of the trial. In the pivotal 648 study, 469 women had received standard cytotoxic chemotherapy (either Adriamycin and Cytoxan in combination, or Taxol) and were randomized to receive either Herceptin or a placebo. In every conceivable index of response, women treated with the addition of Herceptin had shown a clear and measurable benefit. Response rates to standard chemotherapy had moved up 150 percent. Tumors had shrunk in half the women treated with Herceptin compared to a third of women in the control arm. The progression of
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