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.

Newer breast cancer drug may protect heart

By uncovering how one breast cancer drug protects the heart and another does not, Duke University Medical Center researchers believe they may have opened up a new way to screen drugs for possible heart-related side effects and to develop new drugs.

16 Jun 2007

Study finds difference in survival rates among white and black women with advanced breast cancer

Despite modest overall improvements in breast cancer survival rates for women with advanced disease over the last two decades, the rates for black women have not improved and the difference in life expectancy between white and black women continues to widen, according to researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

5 Jun 2007

Herceptin does not increase heart failure in patients long-term

Risk of congestive heart failure in women treated with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and combination chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer did not increase over time according to a five-year follow-up of National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) trial B-31, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago.

5 Jun 2007

Drug lapatinib shows activity against brain metastases

The drug lapatinib shrank tumors and slowed progression of brain metastases in some patients with advanced breast cancer, according to results of a clinical trial presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

5 Jun 2007

Benefits of Herceptin are lasting

An updated analysis of two large randomized clinical trials has found that breast cancer patients who received the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) along with chemotherapy are living longer and with less risk of recurrent disease, compared to patients treated with chemotherapy alone.

5 Jun 2007

Combination treatment cures mice of a very aggressive human breast tumor

A combination of three different drugs that block the HER-2 receptor, a critical cellular growth signal for some breast cancers, eradicated aggressive breast tumors in mice and could point the way toward developing better treatments inpatients, said researchers from the Breast Center at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

2 May 2007

Developing world can expect a 'pandemic of cancer' by 2020

The developing world is expected to account for more than half of all cancer cases in the world by 2020 say medical experts.

23 Apr 2007

New research may help identify patients most likely to benefit from cisplatin treatment

Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center have identified a subgroup of hard-to-treat breast cancers that may be sensitive to the drug cisplatin, rarely used in the treatment of breast tumors.

20 Apr 2007

Novel method to expand the number of immune system "natural killer" cells from blood cells outside the body

Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia have devised a novel method to expand the number of immune system "natural killer (NK)" cells from blood cells outside the body.

19 Apr 2007

New discoveries about stem cells in leukemia, breast and colon cancer

Recent discoveries about the role of stem cells in cancer have altered the landscape of cancer research. With each new study, scientists are learning more about cancer-initiating properties of stem cells at organ sites and throughout the body.

19 Apr 2007

Scientists identify protein key to breast cancer spread

(PHILADELPHIA) Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have identified a protein that they say is key to helping a quarter of all breast cancers spread.

10 Apr 2007

New role for sugars on proteins

In a ground-breaking study published in the top journal, Cell, Dr. James Dennis, senior investigator at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital, has discovered a new role for sugars on proteins.

7 Apr 2007

Although breast cancer mortality has declined as a whole, declines are greatest for women under 70

A new study shows that recent declines in breast cancer mortality rates have been most significant among women with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive tumors and women younger than 70.

4 Apr 2007

Tykerb (lapatinib) - new anti-cancer treatment approved

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Tykerb (lapatinib), a new targeted anti-cancer treatment, to be used in combination with capectabine (Xeloda), another cancer drug, for patients with advanced, metastatic breast cancer that is HER2 positive (tumors that exhibit HER2 protein).

14 Mar 2007

Research defines the cancer role for protein Gab-2

A protein known for its ability to "bridge" interactions between other cellular proteins may spur metastasis in breast cancer, the disease's deadliest stage, a study from Burnham Institute for Medical Research has found.

22 Feb 2007

Researchers discover markers that identify breast cancer subtypes resistant to Herceptin

Using gene chips to profile tumors before treatment, researchers at Harvard and Yale Universities found markers that identified breast cancer subtypes resistant to Herceptin, the primary treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer. They say this advance could help further refine therapy for the 25 to 30 percent of breast cancer patients with this class of tumor.

20 Feb 2007

Battle looming between NHS and pharma giants

According to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in Britain, the National Health Service (NHS) is paying far too much to drug companies for branded medicines.

20 Feb 2007

Artificially engineered magnetic nanoparticles for ultra-sensitive molecular imaging

Iron oxide nanoparticles have shown promise as agents for detecting tumors using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but such efforts have been limited by the relatively weak magnetic signal generated by these nanoparticles.

22 Jan 2007

Selective marker found to indicate aggressive form of breast cancer

Researchers have linked a structural protein called nestin to a particularly deadly form of breast cancer, identifying a new biomarker that could lead to earlier detection and better treatment.

16 Jan 2007

FDA expands use of Herceptin

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded the approved use of Herceptin, a biological cancer drug. The new indication is for Herceptin, in combination with other cancer drugs, for the treatment of HER2 positive breast cancer after surgery (lumpectomy or mastectomy).

19 Nov 2006