HER2+ Breast Cancer

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.