Seminars in oncology
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Seminars in oncology · Dec 2001
ReviewOverview of treatment results with trastuzumab (Herceptin) in metastatic breast cancer.
HER2/neu amplification/overexpression confers more aggressive and malignant characteristics on breast cancer cells. Patients with HER2/neu-amplified breast cancer have a worse prognosis than those with normal HER2/neu expression. Over the past decade, the intracellular signaling pathways associated with this growth factor receptor have been elucidated. ⋯ In addition, when added to chemotherapy, trastuzumab improves antitumor efficacy as measured by time to progression, response rate, and survival. Additional chemotherapy/trastuzumab combinations are under active evaluation, and new schedules of administration are being tested. Thus, trastuzumab is the first successful example of molecularly targeted therapy in the management of metastatic breast cancer.