HER2 Gene News and Research

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The HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) gene is part of a family of genes that play roles in regulating cell growth. The protein it makes is a tyrosine kinase growth factor receptor that a number of normal tissues express and which probably has a role in normal cell function, regulating growth and proliferation.

Black women have fewer breast cancers than white women, but their mortality is worse

For decades, researchers have tried to understand why breast cancer in younger black women is such a significant public health problem.

7 Jun 2006

HERA trial continues to demonstrate significant patient benefits from Herceptin

New 23-month follow-up data from HERA, one of the largest breast cancer trials ever carried out, show that Herceptin (trastuzumab) following standard chemotherapy significantly reduced the risk of death by 34% for women with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer.

5 Jun 2006

"Smart bomb" cancer therapy combo effective

Experts have more good news on the breast cancer front; they say they by using a combination of therapies it may be possible to extend the lives of thousands of women with advanced breast cancer.

4 Jun 2006

Herceptin plus hormonal therapy holds breast cancer in check

Drug giant Roche believes it has proof that its cancer drug Herceptin when used in combination with hormonal therapy increases the time that some breast-cancer patients live without the cancer progressing.

29 May 2006

EU ruling on breast drug Herceptin will end 'post code lottery' in Britain

The European Union has approved the use of the breast cancer drug Herceptin for use in patients with an early stage of the aggressive HER2-positive type of breast cancer.

24 May 2006

Gene amplification could guide treatment for high-risk breast cancer

A new study shows that breast cancer patients with an "amplification," or greater number of copies, of the TOP2A gene are 45% more likely than women who do not have this amplification to benefit from a longer course of anthracycline-based adjuvant chemotherapy.

11 May 2006

Australia's medicines regulator close to decision on herceptin

Australia's medicines regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is considering a recommendation by its expert committee, the Australian Drug Evaluation Committee (ADEC), to conditionally approve an application by Roche Products Pty Limited to extend the registration of the breast cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab) for use in HER2 positive localised breast cancer in addition to chemotherapy.

20 Apr 2006

Lack of response to herceptin may be reversed with PI3K inhibiting agents

Breast cancer patients with HER2-positive tumors who don't respond to Herceptin (trastuzumab) may benefit from cocktail therapy that includes Herceptin along with one or more PI3K inhibiting agents, say researchers at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

11 Apr 2006

Call to speed access to innovative advances for all breast cancer patients

Breast cancer specialists and advocates at the 5th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-5) called for patients to have equal and speedy access to new breast cancer treatments and procedures, as soon as they are validated by comparative clinical trials.

28 Mar 2006

New test for detecting small amounts of proteins in the blood

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have developed a paradigm-shifting method for detecting small amounts of proteins in the blood.

13 Mar 2006

New insight into pathogenic mechanisms underlying basal-like breast cancers

Basal-like breast cancers (BLC) are highly aggressive tumors with a relatively poor prognosis that account for approximately 15% of sporadic human breast cancer.

16 Feb 2006

British woman loses Herceptin court battle

A mother of three in the UK suffering from the early-stage of an aggressive form of breast cancer, has lost her high court battle to force her health authority to pay for the potentially life-saving drug Herceptin.

16 Feb 2006

Mutated oncogene triggers aggressive breast cancer

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified a molecular interaction that triggers a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer, and suggest that attacking this target with selective drugs might improve treatment.

18 Jan 2006

Herceptin may work better when it is followed by injections of interleukin

A new study suggests that antibody-based cancer drugs might help patients more if they are given with substances that stimulate the immune system.

5 Jan 2006

Herceptin - can healthcare afford this expensive drug?

New research into the cost of using the breast cancer drug Herceptin warns that healthcare authorities and the organisations advising them should not rush to prescribe it for early breast cancer without working out extremely carefully the budget implications and cost-effectiveness of the drug.

2 Dec 2005