Lab research suggests more women could benefit from Herceptin

26. 02. 2013 | Cancer Research UK


Herceptin may be effective against more types of breast cancer than previously thought, according to US research [1].

Lab research suggests more women could benefit from Herceptin

Image credit: Fvasconcellos 02:36, 28 May 2007 (UTC) - From PDB entry 1N8Z. More information: Cho HS, Mason K, Ramyar KX, et al. (2003). "Structure of the extracellular region of HER2 alone and in complex with the Herceptin Fab". Nature 421 (6924): 756–60. PMID 12610629. doi:10.1038/nature01392. Public Domain, Link

Herceptin, also known as trastuzumab, is often given to women with breast cancers that test positive for high levels of a protein known as HER2.

But HER2 could help fuel the growth of some breast cancers that are labelled HER2-negative, researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center discovered.

Read the whole article at Cancer Research UK

Reference

  1. Ithimakin, S., Day, K. C. et al. (2013). HER2 drives luminal breast cancer stem cells in the absence of HER2 amplification: implications for efficacy of adjuvant trastuzumab Cancer Research DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-12-3349

Keywords: Herceptin, trastuzumab, breast cancer, HER2-positive breast cancer, HER2-negative breast cancer, adjuvant therapy

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