According to the findings of a new research disclosed at the American Society of Clinical Oncologists' annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, Roche Holding AG's blockbuster breast-cancer drug Herceptin can also be safely used for the treatment of a subtype of stomach cancers.

Herceptin, manufactured by Roche's Genentech division reportedly lowers fatality risk for certain stomach cancer patients by 26 percent; thereby increasing the median overall survival for Herceptin patients to 13.8 months compared to 11.1 months in the placebo faction.

The findings of the research reveal that Herceptin works by controlling the cancer-causing overabundant growth of receptor-2 (HER-2) protein, which is overproduced in nearly 20-25 percent of breast-cancer and stomach-cancer cases. The first new use of Herceptin is another example of customized medicine - which molds treatment depending upon a patient's genetic constitution.

The study's findings were based on the observation of 594 patients tested positive for surplus amounts of the protein, being treated with a combination of chemotherapy and Herceptin, or chemotherapy alone. And, the effectiveness of Herceptin was determined in the interim analysis itself.

Commenting on the findings of the study, Dr. Richard Schilsky - President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology - said: "This will quickly have an impact on the standard of care. It's going to force us to test stomach cancer patients on whether they are HER-2 positive or not."