Wednesday, 9 April 2014

Adjuvant Breast Cancer

Herceptin is approved for the treatment of early-stage breast cancer that is Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2-positive (HER2+) and has spread into the lymph nodes, or is HER2+ and has not spread into the lymph nodes. If it has not spread into the lymph nodes, the cancer needs to be estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor (ER/PR)-negative or have one high risk feature.* Herceptin can be used in several different ways:
  • As part of a treatment course including the chemotherapy drugs Adriamycin® (doxorubicin), Cytoxan® (cyclophosphamide), and either Taxol® (paclitaxel) or Taxotere® (docetaxel). This treatment course is known as "AC→TH."
  • With the chemotherapy drugs Taxotere and Paraplatin® (carboplatin). This treatment course is known as "TCH."
  • Alone after treatment with multiple other therapies, including an anthracycline (Adriamycin)-based therapy (a type of chemotherapy).
*High risk is defined as ER/PR-positive with one of the following features: tumor size >2 cm, age <35 years, or tumor grade 2 or 3.
Adriamycin is a registered trademark of Pharmacia, Inc.
Cytoxan, Taxol, and Paraplatin are registered trademarks of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
Taxotere is a registered trademark of sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC.

Metastatic Breast Cancer

Herceptin has 2 approved uses in metastatic breast cancer:
  • Herceptin in combination with the chemotherapy drug Taxol® (paclitaxel) is approved for the first line treatment of Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2-positive (HER2+) metastatic breast cancer.
  • Herceptin alone is approved for the treatment of HER2+ breast cancer in patients who have received one or more chemotherapy courses for metastatic disease.
Taxol is a registered trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.

Gastric Cancer

Herceptin is approved, in combination with chemotherapy (cisplatin and either capecitabine or 5-fluorouracil), for the treatment of HER2+ metastatic cancer of the stomach or gastroesophageal junction (where the esophagus meets the stomach) in patients who have not received prior treatment for their metastatic disease.

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