Data presented indicate that adding Xeloda to standard chemotherapy allows women to live cancer-free for longer. Preliminary data presented at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) demonstrate that women with early breast cancer taking Xeloda as part of their chemotherapy had a 34 per cent reduction in the risk of the cancer returning. The trial by the Finnish Breast Cancer Group carried out in Finland and Sweden also showed that patients in the Xeloda arm were more likely to live longer overall and less likely to have their cancer spread to another part of the body.

"We already know that oral Xeloda on its own, or in combination with other chemotherapies, improves survival in patients with advanced breast cancer, and the positive results presented today highlight the bigger role that Xeloda may have in treating breast cancer." said Professor Heikki Joensuu, Helsinki University Hospital, Finland. "These data suggest that women may benefit from taking Xeloda in the earlier stages of their disease and may live longer without breast cancer."

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in the world and the most common cancer among women. There are 1.1 million new cases of female breast cancer each year worldwide.

Xeloda is an innovative oral chemotherapy drug that is powerful and effective treatment option that has been shown to significantly lengthen survival in women with advanced breast cancer and has been approved for the treatment of breast cancer for over 10 years. It uniquely activates the cancer killing agent 5-FU (5-fluorouracil) directly inside the cancer cells Furthermore as Xeloda is taken as a tablet patients can take it in the comfort of their own home, while offering them the freedom to carry on with their lives as normally as possible.

Xeloda, capecitabine, is a highly effective targeted oral chemotherapy offering patients a survival advantage when taken on its own or in combination with other anticancer drugs.

The Finnish Breast Cancer Group is a scientific and educational legitimised society for scientists and specialists who are responsible for breast cancer diagnostics and treatment in Finland.