HER2+ Breast Cancer

Patients with breast cancer who do not exhibit amplifications of the HER2 gene may still have mutations of HER2 that drive the progression of their cancer, suggesting that these mutations could serve as therapeutic targets.

Efforts to improve guidelines continue for HER2 testing and the evaluation of whether patients' tumors are estrogen receptor-positive and progesterone receptor-positive.

A new study found that patients with HER2-positive breast cancer who are receiving anti-HER2 therapy could prevent or delay resistance when a phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) inhibitor is added during treatment.

Investigators have documented a significant 4.5-month median overall survival advantage with lapatinib combined with trastuzumab in women with heavily pretreated HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Sramila Aithal, MD, from Cancer Treatment Centers of America, discusses the HERceptin Adjuvant (HERA) trial that examined adjuvant therapy with trastuzumab for women with HER2-positive early breast cancer.

During the 11th International Congress on The Future of Breast Cancer, Hope Rugo, MD, offered a snapshot of the research community's progress in the study and treatment of the disease.

Long-term follow-up of the HERA trial confirms that 1 year of adjuvant therapy with trastuzumab should remain the standard of care for treatment of women with HER2-positive invasive early breast cancer.

An updated analysis of the phase III EMILIA trial showed that T-DM1 significantly extended survival in women with HER2-positive, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer.

A new formulation of trastuzumab that is administered subcutaneously appears to be as effective as the approved bodyweight-based intravenous regimen in women with HER2-positive breast cancer.

Trastuzumab has demonstrated activity in patients with B-cell adult acute lymphocytic leukemia who exhibit evidence of upregulation of the HER2 receptor.

Pathologist Dr. Elizabeth Hammond, from Intermountain Healthcare, Discusses the Ongoing ASCO/CAP HER2 Testing Guideline Revisions.

As the molecular understanding of breast cancer continues to evolve, the search for treatment targets based upon tumor subtypes and gene expression patterns is intensifying.

Dr. José Baselga, from Massachusetts General Hospital, on combining pertuzumab with trastuzumab

Standards for identifying appropriate populations for treatment with HER2-targeted therapies are evolving.

HER2 status in patients with breast cancer has emerged as a durable and effective marker for evaluating tumors and selecting therapies.

Dr. Jenny Chang, from the Methodist Cancer Center, Discusses Combining HER2 Targeted Therapies

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