According to a new study, two breast cancer medications, Tykerb (lapatinib) and Herceptin (trastuzumab) are 51 percent more likely to diminish cancer cells when used together than when using either drug alone. "A massive improvement in response" was seen by researchers out of Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. These drugs are designed to work on HER-2 positive breast cancer, an aggressive form of the women's disease.
Although both medications have been approved for some years now, researchers questioned what their efficacy would be when used together, before the cancer patients' surgery. Dr. Jose Baselga, a professor at Harvard Medical School, and his associates from the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, with funding from GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Tykerb, decided to find out. They conducted a trial by treating 455 women from 23 countries, all with HER2-positive breast cancer and a tumor over ¾ of an inch.
In the two-drug trial, researchers gave 154 women Tykerb, 149 Herceptin, and 152 received both drugs before their surgery, with standard chemotherapy added after 6 weeks of single or double medication treatment.
Tykerb is a medication FDA-approved for aggressive forms of breast cancer and tumors. Its main medicinal ingredient is lapatinib, a protein kinase inhibitor. Protein kinase inhibitors are shown to decrease tumor-causing breast cancer stem cells. The other drug in the study, Herceptin, medicinal ingredient trastuzumab, is a humanized monoclonal antibody, which binds to specific cancer cells. Humanized monoclonal antibodies are cells from a mouse that have been cloned and modified for use in a human. Scientists then harvest antibodies from the cells. These antibodies indicate which cells the body's immune cells should be attacking.
Currently, Herceptin is one of the most expensive cancer medications, costing up to $100,000 for a year's treatment. One year is the usual treatment length. However, with this new innovation,
doctors may be able to reduce the financial burden on their patients by prescribing the two drugs combined, for a shorter amount of time. However, with two medications, there is an increased risk of side effects. In the study, the most common side effect was diarrhea, with none of the heart problems that are commonly associated with Herceptin.
Over 230,000 American women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. It is the number two killer of women in the United States, preceded only by lung cancer. One in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. For more information on breast cancer, methods of diagnosis and the treatments available, visit us online at http://www.breastcancercare.us.
Two May be Better than One for Breast Cancer by TIFFANY S
Although both medications have been approved for some years now, researchers questioned what their efficacy would be when used together, before the cancer patients' surgery. Dr. Jose Baselga, a professor at Harvard Medical School, and his associates from the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, with funding from GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Tykerb, decided to find out. They conducted a trial by treating 455 women from 23 countries, all with HER2-positive breast cancer and a tumor over ¾ of an inch.
In the two-drug trial, researchers gave 154 women Tykerb, 149 Herceptin, and 152 received both drugs before their surgery, with standard chemotherapy added after 6 weeks of single or double medication treatment.
Tykerb is a medication FDA-approved for aggressive forms of breast cancer and tumors. Its main medicinal ingredient is lapatinib, a protein kinase inhibitor. Protein kinase inhibitors are shown to decrease tumor-causing breast cancer stem cells. The other drug in the study, Herceptin, medicinal ingredient trastuzumab, is a humanized monoclonal antibody, which binds to specific cancer cells. Humanized monoclonal antibodies are cells from a mouse that have been cloned and modified for use in a human. Scientists then harvest antibodies from the cells. These antibodies indicate which cells the body's immune cells should be attacking.
Currently, Herceptin is one of the most expensive cancer medications, costing up to $100,000 for a year's treatment. One year is the usual treatment length. However, with this new innovation,
doctors may be able to reduce the financial burden on their patients by prescribing the two drugs combined, for a shorter amount of time. However, with two medications, there is an increased risk of side effects. In the study, the most common side effect was diarrhea, with none of the heart problems that are commonly associated with Herceptin.
Over 230,000 American women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. It is the number two killer of women in the United States, preceded only by lung cancer. One in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. For more information on breast cancer, methods of diagnosis and the treatments available, visit us online at http://www.breastcancercare.us.
Two May be Better than One for Breast Cancer by TIFFANY S