NCI Cancer Bulletin: (U.S.) FDA Approves Test to Identify Candidates for Breast Cancer Drug - Trastuzumab (Herceptin) - HER2 gene

FDA Approves Test to Identify Candidates for Breast Cancer Drug

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a genetic test that doctors can use to help identify women with breast cancer who have extra copies of the HER2 gene and therefore may benefit from the drug trastuzumab (Herceptin).
Trastuzumab targets the protein made by the HER2 gene, which is located on chromosome 17. Approximately 25 percent of breast cancers have extra copies of the HER2 gene and produce higher levels of the HER2 protein. These tumors tend to grow faster and are more likely to recur than tumors that don’t overexpress HER2........cont'd

Trastuzumab (Herceptin) Beyond Progression in Retrospective Analyses: An Issue of Equal Opportunities -- The Oncologist

Note: Trastuzumab is also known as Herceptin "Based on these considerations, it would be interesting if Extra and colleagues could reanalyze their data by distinguishing patients stopping trastuzumab according to whether or not they had "equal opportunities" to patients continuing trastuzumab beyond progression." (The Oncologist) Editor's note: Dr. Extra was invited to reply but declined comment.

no abstract: Bilateral macular ischemia and severe visual loss following trastuzumab (Herceptin) therapy

full access: Trastuzumab (Herceptin) sensitizes ovarian cancer cells to EGFR-targeted therapeutics

In research:

Background:  Early studies have demonstrated comparable levels of HER2/ErbB2 expression in both breast and ovarian cancer. Trastuzumab (Herceptin), a therapeutic monoclonal antibody directed against HER2, is FDA-approved for the treatment of both early and late stage breast cancer. However, clinical studies of trastuzumab in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients have not met the same level of success. Surprisingly, however, no reports have examined either the basis for primary trastuzumab resistance in ovarian cancer or potential ways of salvaging trastuzumab as a potential ovarian cancer therapeutic.