HER2+ Breast Cancer

Since the discovery of the HER2/neu gene in the late 1970s, aberrations in the HER2 signaling pathway have been implicated in a wide variety of human cancers.

Dennis Slamon, MD, PhD, and Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, discuss recent advances in anti-HER2 targeted therapies and the role of signaling by oncogenes.

Dr. Kenneth Bloom, from Chief Medical Officer at Clarient, Explains Situations Requiring HER2 Retesting

Dr. Kenneth Bloom, the Chief Medical Officer at Clarient, Compares HER2 Screening Assays

Two new studies suggest that dual inhibition of HER2 might serve as a better approach to treating patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.

The approval of trastuzumab, targeted directly to the human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2)-positive, was a major advance in extending the lives of women with HER2-positive breast cancer.

Improving the accuracy and value of tumor marker testing in patients with breast cancer has resulted in a dramatic upswing in accredited laboratories and the clarification of guideline definitions.

HER2-positive women can be effectively treated with Herceptin (trastuzumab injection) without the use of Adriamycin.

T-DM1 extended progression-free survival by 40% in HER2+ metastatic breast cancer and was less toxic, compared with standard therapy.

Dr. J. Michael Dixon from University of Edinburgh on Advances in Breast Cancer Systemic Therapy

Dr. Antonio C. Wolff from Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center Discusses the Importance of HER2 Testing

Martine Piccart-Gebhart, MD, PhD is a professor of oncology at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles and director of the Medicine department at the Jules Bordet Institute in Brussels, Belgium.

The first drug that successfully targeted the HER2 pathway in cancer treatment generated much excitement.

On Tuesday the FDA approved a genetic test known as Inform Dual ISH that detects HER2+ breast cancer

Lapatinib and capecitabine is a reasonable approach in a well-informed patient with brain metastasis and HER2+ breast cancer

Breast cancer researcher Edith A. Perez, MD, is aiming to present more detailed study findings at national conferences later this year that will help clinicians better identify patients who would benefit from HER2 targeted treatment.

Breast cancer is the number one malignancy diagnosed in women in the United States. In 2009, it was estimated that more than 190,000 individuals would be diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 40,000 would die from the disease.

Two trials explored the role of lapatinib (Tykerb) as neoadjuvant therapy in early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer and concluded that its effectiveness is statistically no better than standard trastuzumab (Herceptin) therapy

In situ hybridization (ISH) yields the best results for assessing HER2 expression in gastric cancer, according to a multilaboratory analysis of testing methods.

Key findings from the 2008 ASCO Breast Cancer conference; updates on goserelin, capecitabine, docetaxel & lapatinib.