Breast Cancer Clinical Trials

⁃ Written informed consent must be obtained prior to any screening procedures

• Women ages of 18 to 70 years old

• Biopsy-accessible breast tumor of significant size for core needle biopsy /ultrasound measurable (≥ 2cm)

• Measurable breast tumour using ultrasonography (≥ 2cm)

• Patients with histologically confirmed carcinoma of the female breast with positive HER2 status

• Clinical stages 2A -3C. (AJCC 2009)

• Chemotherapy-naïve patients (for this malignancy)

• Performance status: Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0-3

• Non-pregnant and not nursing. Women of childbearing potential must take the pregnancy test and must commit to receive hormone therapy with Zoladex (goserelin) for two years starting from the commencement of the study medications

• Required Initial Laboratory Data. Adequate hematologic, renal and hepatic function, as defined by each of the following:

⁃ 1\. Granulocyte ≥ 1,500/mL 2. Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mL 3. Absolute neutrophil count ≥ l500/mL 4. Hemoglobin 10g/dL 5. Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x upper limit of normal 6. serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) and Serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) \< 2.5 x upper limit of normal for patients without liver metastases 7. Creatinine within institutional normal limits or glomerular filtration rate ≥ 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 by Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation (see http://mdrd.com/ for calculator) 8. Echocardiogram: Baseline left ventricular ejection fraction of ≥ 55%