Study: 80% of U.S. physicians use Herceptin for HER2-positive metastatic gastric cancer treatment

In just over a month following the FDA's October 2010 approval of Roche's Herceptin for HER2-positive metastatic gastric cancer, more than 80 percent of U.S. physicians report using the drug, according to new research by GfK HealthCare. However, the research study also shows that physicians are not truly satisfied with current treatment options for gastric cancer, including Herceptin.

According to GfK Research Matters' (a subsidiary of GfK HealthCare) 2010 Gastric Cancer Treatment Tracker, 25 percent of physicians began using Herceptin for treatment of gastric cancer following FDA approval; about 60 percent of physicians began using Herceptin prior to approval; and, finally, the remaining 15 percent of physicians will consider using Herceptin for this indication from 2011 on.

However, up against the reported widespread use of Herceptin, physicians participating in GfK's research study also expressed a high unmet need present in first-line treatment options for metastatic gastric cancer, including Herceptin. Less than 20 percent of physicians said they were "truly satisfied" with the outcomes of therapies currently on the market, pointing to major opportunities for pharmaceutical manufacturers in this treatment area.

"These results are surprising, especially when compared with satisfaction seen in other dynamic and difficult-to-treat indications, such as non-small cell lung cancer," said Petra Maertens, director of oncology syndicated studies for GfK HealthCare. "The next wave of the study, to be conducted at the end of this year, will hopefully show that once oncologists have gained more experience with Herceptin, some of the current unmet needs will be fulfilled."