article - Aggressive breast cancer meets its match

cp418

http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=33157

blondie45

Thank you, very interesting.

snowyday

What does the nib in Lapitinib mean, my chemo nurse told me that anything with a mab meant monoclonal antibody, so it may be a silly question but I'm wondering what nib is and is it something I should try and does one have to take for a year?  Sorry for all the questions. 

Anonymous

I can't believe that I feel LUCKY to be HER2+++.   Wow!

HensonChi

I got herceptin but never got Lapitinib.  Is it out there for all Her2+++ patients?

barbe1958

..I'm HER2-....

mthomp2020

Lapitinib is Tykerb, which is currently approved by the FDA to use with Xeloda.  So it's not a new drug, but there are trials that are trying it with drugs other then Xeloda.  Some doctors are using it along with Herceptin.  They usually don't use Tykerb until you no longer respond to Herceptin. 

lexi4

Hmmm. What did stand out to me in the article was that they said most her2+ bc is treated with femara. Well, my her2+ bc was hormone negative. I thought I had read for the most part, her2+ bc's were hormone negative? Whatever the case, I am thankful that we have Tykerb in our arsenal to fight the beast.

lexislove

Great article!

I remember when I was diagnosed waiting for my Her2 status to come back. My onc was hoping that I WAS Her2+.At the time I thought he was nuts! I was going to change oncs!..lol.

Now I understand why.

REKoz

This is interesting. I have not heard anything about HER pos having a high percentage of hormone negs? I guess I have it all, being triple positive! As miraculous as Herceptin is, I can't help but wish I were neg. in that respect. It's nice to hear about Onc.s thinking this is a good thing. Mine did not say it was good nor bad. Just treatable with Herceptin.

Ellen

lexislove

I have read on a site that triple+ woman only account for about 10% of the population. So if 20-30% ob BC is Her2+, and the majority is ER-, this would make sense. I hope someone with more knowledge can elaborate a bit more..

orange1

In all the large trials with Herceptin as adjuvant therapy (for treating cancer that has not metastized), the ratio of hormone receptor (HR) postive to negative was approximately 51- 52% HR+ to about 49% HR-.

This is in contrast to Her2- BC, which I believe is about 70-80% HR+

Another difference between Her2+ and Her2- BC is that in cases where patients are Her2+ and HR+, they are typically positive to a lesser degree and much more likely to be PR receptor negative.

Brenda_R

When I first started getting Herceptin, my sister who was with me at the onc's office, asked about Tykerb, and we were told then, it's for metastatic, so we have that to fall back on later if needed.

lexislove

Thanks, orange1. I trust your research.

Anonymous

Orange1, sounds like me... HER+++ and very weakly ER/PR positive (<5%).  

Carolina59

I guess I'm one of the exceptions: HER2+++, 95% ER+, 95% PR+

orange1

Now to figure out what all this means

REKoz

Well Carolina- I'm "exceptional" as well @ 90% on both ER and PR!  As Orange said, now to figure out what this all means!

SusieSwan

Me too!  I'm also 90% ER 90% PR and 5.7 ratio HER2.  All high!

swimangel72

My tumor was 98% ER positive, 45% PR positive and Her2++++.........but the biggest difference is the fact that it was a Grade 1 on two separate pathology reports, which is very unusual for Her2+ tumors...........most of them, even Stage 1 tumors, are rated more aggressively at a Grade 3. I feel lucky then that a keen eyed radiologist spotted my "nodule" (as she called it) before it had time to get too aggressive!

cp418

Don't forget to GOOGLE 'Her2 Vaccines'.  Many of the recent vaccine clinical trials have been specific for Her2 positive patients.  Lots of articles out there with promising results.

Gitane

snowyday, I think the "nib" means "inhibitor".  Most of the drugs with "nib" used in breast cancer inhibit different types of tyrosine kinases, part of the signaling process within the cell.  Blocking the enzymes, tyrosine kinases, should stop cancer cells from growing and dividing.  There are proteasome inhibitors that end in "nib", but I think they are used in other kinds of cancers.

mariemarie

I started a clinical trial, the ALTTO trial, when I finished the AC. When I started Taxol, I also started taking Lapatinib tablets, 1500 mg a day. I consented to the trial hoping to get both Herceptin and lapatinib, but didn't get into that arm of the trial. The purpose of the research is to see if lapatinib is as good on earlier-stage cancers as it is on metastatic cancers. It apparently works in a similar way as Herceptin, but more directly against the HER2+ cancer cells. We'll see what happens in a year or 5 or 10!

azsunn

Mariemarie-

Thank you for participating in the trial so that we all can benefit! 

giglgrl

I just finished a clinical trial in which I took litabnib daily and then infusions of abraxen? once every month for four months before my upcoming surgery. My tumors both shrunk over 1cm in size during the trial. I have been told that I have had excellent results. As it was a trial and I am HER2+ I still have to do all of the regular stuff. Will have mx, chemo and rads then reconstruction.

I hope the results found in my trial turn out to benefit women in the future. Taking a few pills everyday sure beats going in for hours long infusions.

orange1

mariemarie and giglgrl -

Thank you both for participating in these clinical trials which we will benefit many, many women with Her2+ BC.