Herceptin (Trastuzumab) News and Research

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Herceptin (Trastuzumab) is a monoclonal antibody that binds to HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2), and can kill HER2-positive cancer cells. Monoclonal antibodies are made in the laboratory and can locate and bind to substances in the body, including cancer cells. Herceptin is used to treat breast cancer that is HER2-positive and has spread after treatment with other drugs. It is also used with other anticancer drugs to treat HER2-positive breast cancer after surgery. Herceptin is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer.

C&EN explains logic behind odd-sounding generic names

Oseltamivir. Esomeprazole. Trastuzumab. Where do drugs get those odd-sounding generic names? The answers are in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, which explains the logic behind the tongue-twisters.

19 Jan 2012

Initial results from whole-genome sequencing trial for triple negative breast cancer

Initial results from an ongoing clinical trial, the first designed to examine the utility of whole-genome sequencing for triple negative breast cancer, were reported today during the CRTC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

9 Dec 2011

Positive results from Genentech's pertuzumab plus Herceptin Phase III study on HER2-positive mBC

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced results from CLEOPATRA, the first randomized Phase III study of the investigational HER2-targeted medicine pertuzumab.

8 Dec 2011

First results from whole-genome sequencing clinical trial on triple negative breast cancer

Triple negative breast tumors, which make up nearly 20 percent of breast cancers, do not respond to treatment with targeted therapies such as Herceptin-(trastuzumab).

2 Dec 2011

Genentech announces results from pertuzumab studies on HER2-positive breast cancer

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced the company will present results from studies of its investigational medicine pertuzumab in HER2-positive breast cancer at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium December 6-10.

30 Nov 2011

Positive results from Roche's Phase 3 HannaH trial for HER2-positive early breast cancer

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing products targeting the extracellular matrix for the diabetes, cancer, dermatology and drug delivery markets, today announced that the Phase 3 HannaH trial, conducted by Roche, showed that women with HER2-positive early breast cancer who received a new, investigational subcutaneous (SC) injection of Herceptin (trastuzumab), experienced comparable results to Herceptin given as an intravenous infusion.

18 Oct 2011

Herceptin chemo combination could mean longer survival and lower side effects in breast cancer patients: Study

A new study released this Wednesday revealed that breast cancer that is highly aggressive but caught early could be best treated with a combination of Herceptin and chemotherapy.

6 Oct 2011

Genentech announces results of trastuzumab emtansine Phase II study on HER2-positive mBC

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced the results of the Phase II study TDM4450g in people with previously untreated HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

26 Sep 2011

Breast cancer drug combination could stop cancer “in its tracks”

The results of a new study revealed that treatment for women with HER2-positive breast cancer – an aggressive form of the disease which is diagnosed in 10,000 British women each year – slowed the progression of tumors by 40 per cent compared with conventional drugs. Tests on 137 women showed that the new therapy – called T-DM1 – which combines the drug Herceptin with an antibody drug, instead of with standard chemotherapy, appeared to stop the cancer “in its tracks”.

26 Sep 2011

Novel studies explore new targets to prevent spread of breast cancer

Research into new methods to prevent and slow metastatic breast cancer will be presented this week at the Era of Hope conference, a scientific meeting hosted by the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program.

5 Aug 2011

FDA issues draft guidance to promote development of targeted medicines, diagnostics

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a new draft guidance to facilitate the development and review of companion diagnostics – tests used to help health care professionals determine whether a patient with a particular disease or condition should receive a particular drug therapy or how much of the drug to give.

13 Jul 2011

Combination therapy shows promise against HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer

Adding Afinitor to Herceptin, the main treatment for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, helps some women with disease that has been resistant to previous Herceptin-based therapies, according to a study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

11 Jul 2011

Ventana Medical receives FDA approval for new breast cancer genetic test

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a new genetic test that will help health care professionals determine if women with breast cancer are HER2-positive and, therefore, candidates for Herceptin, a commonly used breast cancer treatment.

15 Jun 2011

New avenue for treating breast cancer

Researchers at the CHUM Research Centre and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Australia have identified a new avenue for treating breast cancer.

17 May 2011

Positive top-line results from Roche's T-DM1 Phase II trial in HER2-positive MBC

ImmunoGen, Inc., a biotechnology company that develops targeted antibody-based anticancer products, today announced that Roche has disclosed positive top-line results from the first randomized trial assessing trastuzumab emtansine in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

7 Apr 2011

NICE to lose its power to ban life saving drugs

Ministers have finally clarified that patients would not be denied life-extending drugs just because the NHS rationing body decides they are too expensive. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) the drug watchdog in the UK will be stripped of its powers to stop drugs being available on the NHS due to price. The arbitrary limit on the cost of new drugs – around £30,000 per year of extended high-quality life – will be scrapped from 2014.

1 Nov 2010

Array BioPharma to present positive interim results of Phase 1 ARRY-380 trial at ASCO Symposium

Array BioPharma Inc. today announced positive interim results of its novel, oral HER2 (ErbB2) inhibitor, ARRY-380, in a Phase 1 trial in patients with advanced cancer.

4 Oct 2010

New study on impact of bortezomib on mantle cell lymphoma

A new study by researchers from the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center sheds light on how bortezomib (VELCADE-), the first in a new class of cancer drugs known as proteasome inhibitors, works in mantle cell lymphoma. The study also provides preliminary evidence for which patients might benefit most from bortezomib.

13 Jul 2010

New class of breast cancer: Overexpression of LRP6 gene could be a potential marker

A newly identified cancer biomarker could define a new subtype of breast cancer as well as offer a potential way to treat it, say researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Their findings will be published in the March 1 online early edition issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

2 Mar 2010

FDA approves new drug combination for hormone positive and HER2-positive advanced breast cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Tykerb (lapatinib) in combination with Femara (letrozole) to treat hormone positive and HER2-positive advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women for whom hormonal therapy is indicated.

30 Jan 2010