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.

Medco Health Solutions launches Medco TRC for oncology patients

Medco Health Solutions, Inc. today announced the launch of the Medco Therapeutic Resource Center® (TRC) for oncology patients headquartered in Whitestown, Ind., where specialist pharmacists will manage the company's more than 850,000 patients currently living with cancer, one of the fastest growing segments of healthcare.

21 Jan 2010

Combination therapy improves overall survival in women with advanced breast cancer

In a clinical study, women with an aggressive form of breast cancer experienced a median survival of 14 months when treated with an investigational combination of TYKERB® (lapatinib) plus HERCEPTIN® (trastuzumab). The results of the Phase III study in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer were presented during the 32nd Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held in San Antonio, Texas (Dec. 9 - 13).

14 Dec 2009

FISH technology accurate in measuring the HER-2 receptor in human breast tumors

The debate on how to select patients who will respond best to costly drug treatments for aggressive breast cancer now favors fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to measure the HER-2 receptor found in human breast tumors, according to a leading pathologist presenting at the Association for Molecular Pathology annual meeting.

20 Nov 2009

Halozyme Therapeutics commences patient dosing in Phase 3 Enhanze trial with Herceptin

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. and Roche today announced dosing of the first patient in a Phase 3 registration trial using Enhanze™ technology (rHuPH20, recombinant human hyaluronidase) in a subcutaneous formulation with Roche’s anticancer biologic, Herceptin (trastuzumab).

22 Oct 2009

FDA clears Aperio Technologies to market breast tissue image analysis application

Aperio Technologies, Inc., (Aperio), a global leader in digital pathology for the healthcare and life sciences industry, has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market the IHC HER2 Breast Tissue Image Analysis application, available through its patented digital pathology platform.

25 Aug 2009

Mathematical modeling predicts Herceptin resistance

Cancer researchers are turning to mathematical models to help answer important clinical questions, and a new paper in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, illustrates how the technique may answer questions about Herceptin resistance.

28 Jul 2009

Dramatic drop in deaths from most common cancers

The death toll from three of the UK's most common cancers has dropped to its lowest level for almost 40 years* - according to new figures released by Cancer Research UK.

12 Jul 2009

New research sheds light on ways to improve treatment for aggressive breast cancer

Changing the order that chemotherapy drugs are given to breast cancer patients before surgery makes treatment much more effective, according to trial results presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference, today.

31 May 2009

African-American women breast cancer sufferers often refuse chemotherapy and radiation therapy

A new study finds that nearly one in four African American women with late stage breast cancer refused chemotherapy and radiation therapy, potentially life saving therapies.

22 May 2009

Combining two chemotherapy drugs with Herceptin shows promise for metastatic HER2+ breast cancer

At the 45th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), researchers from the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida report that using a combination of capecitabine, vinorelbine, and trastuzumab offers a treatment option that is at least as beneficial as other current options - and doesn't cause hair loss in patients.

17 May 2009

Researchers target telomeres to attack tumors

Hoping to develop more effective long-term attacks on cancer, researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine are conducting the first human tests of a breast cancer drug regimen that includes a compound meant to force cancer cells to grow old and die.

5 May 2009

Nanoscopic 'pearl necklaces' track and attack cancer cells

A team of investigators at Purdue University has developed nanoscale probes that can help pinpoint the location of tumors and might one day be able to directly attack cancer cells.

27 Apr 2009

New Federal Government rules on cancer treatment unfair

Critics say new measures proposed by the Australian Federal Government, due to come into force in July this year, will mean an end to Government subsidies for leftover cancer drugs - worth about $26 million a year - are unfair to both patients and pharmacists.

27 Apr 2009

AVEO Pharmaceuticals announces findings from novel human-in-mouse cancer model system

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced findings from its novel human-in-mouse (HIM) cancer model system, in which AVEO successfully created invasive human tumors from primary human breast tissue that develop over time in mice and mimic human tumor behaviors and response.

6 Apr 2009

Monoclonal antibody cancer therapy

The strategy of using monoclonal antibodies for cancer treatment was first described in the late 1970s with the promise that they could be developed into therapies that were highly specific to cancer cells, killing them with few or no side effects.

6 Apr 2009

Possible new treatments options for triple-negative breast cancer

Brian Rowan, Ph.D., professor of Cancer Research for the Tulane Cancer Center, is studying treatment options for an aggressive type of breast cancer that is prevalent in New Orleans among African-American women - triple-negative breast cancer.

5 Apr 2009

New light-based system reveals breast tumor oxygen status

Light directed at a breast tumor through a needle can provide pathologists with biological specifics of the tumor and help oncologists choose treatment options that would be most effective for that individual patient.

1 Apr 2009

Tiny probes help track down and attack cancer cells

A researcher has developed probes that can help pinpoint the location of tumors and might one day be able to directly attack cancer cells.

16 Mar 2009

Early-stage breast cancer patients with HER2 positive tumors at increased risk of recurrence

Early-stage breast cancer patients with HER2 positive tumors one centimeter or smaller are at significant risk of recurrence of their disease, compared to those with early-stage disease who do not express the aggressive protein, according to a study led by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

14 Dec 2008

UK kidney cancer patients face toxic, out-dated treatments with little hope of change

Leading oncologist Professor Tim Eisen has expressed concerns that patients with advanced kidney cancer could be condemned to toxic, barely effective, 20 year-old treatments because the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is likely to rule out using all four of the new treatments it has assessed.

10 Dec 2008