Herceptin+Therapy

Understand the mechanism of Herceptin as a targeted therapy  **-Background:** o HER2 Test for breast cancer detects the overproduction of HER2 protein and/or gene amplification, both of which contribute to aggressive growth of cancer and it’s spread to other parts of the body. o 25% of breast cancer patients have tumors that are HER2+ o HER2=Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 o In normal cells: HER2 proteins help send growth signals fr. outside the cell to the inside- à these signals tell the cell to grow and divide. o In HER2+ breast cancer à cancer cells have an abnormally HIGH number of HER2 genes per cell à too much HER2 proteins appear on surface of these cancer cells à aka HER2 protein overexpression. o Too much HER2 protein is thought to CAUSE cancer cells to grow and divide more quickly à this is why HER2+ breast cancer is often more aggressive than other breast cancers that are not HER2+ à IMPORTANT to find out your HER2 status. o Your tumor’s HER2 status is not heredity. HER2 is not passed down from your parents. However, there is a relationship between genetics and breast cancer in general. o Monoclonal antibody that reacts with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), a genetic defect that is seen in certain metastatic breast cancers. It is used in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in tumors that over-express HER2. o <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Type of immunotherapy o <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Used to stop the growth of breast tumors that express the HER2/neu receptor on their cell surface. o <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">The HER2/neu receptor binds to an epidermal growth factor that contributes to cell growth à <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Herceptin/trastuzumab is a recombinant DNA-derived monoclonal antibody that binds to the HER2/neu receptor à <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">thus inhibiting proliferation of tumor cells that overexpress the receptor gene. o <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Herceptin blocks the downstream HER2, signaling to inhibit proliferation of cells. o <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Herceptin is the ONLY approved HER2 therapy designed to bind to HER2_ tumor cells and flag them for destruction by the immune system.
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"> -Herceptin/Trastuxumab **