The drug, called Abemaciclib and sold under the name Verzenio, has already been used since 2017 for advanced or metastatic breast cancer that grows in response to hormones.
Now, in a large seven-year study involving more than 5,600 patients, the pill proved it can also lower the risk of relapse in people with early breast cancer that has already spread to lymph nodes, a group considered at high risk of recurrence. This type of cancer, known as HR+ and HER2-negative, makes up around 70 to 80 percent of breast cancer cases. Verzenio works best when paired with hormone therapy: the hormone treatment blocks cancer cells from feeding on hormones, while Verzenio stops the enzymes that allow those cells to multiply.
Together, they slow or prevent the cancer from coming back. Patients who took the two treatments for two years had better survival rates than those who only received hormone therapy. For many patients, this could mark an important shift: until now, Verzenio was mostly used when cancer was already advanced, but these results suggest it could be a powerful tool earlier on, before the disease returns or spreads. Despite these encouraging results, this medication should only be prescribed and monitored by a cancer specialist, as it may not be suitable for every patient.
source
“Lilly’s Verzenio® (abemaciclib) increases overall survival in HR+, HER2-, high-risk early breast cancer with two years of therapy” (August 2025)
