HER2+ and Tykerb anyone?

nickythebean

Anybody out there who is HER2+ and taking Tykerb? I am taking neoadjuvant chemo to shrink my huge tumor. Herceptin and Taxol weekly, and Tykerb daily. It doesn't seem like many people are taking Tykerb. Anybody???

kathleen1966

 I think Tykerb is usually given to those with brain metastasis, as it is supposed to cross the blood brain barrier.  I haven't heard of this as standard treatment but I'm happy to hear this! I see that you are also getting Herceptin.  Well this is GREAT!!!  I wish I got Tykerb in addition to Herceptin. Are you in a clinical study?  I think this is good treatment that you are getting. I hope they shrink your tumor to nothing! 

krcll

Nickythebean- You are really lucky. Herceptin + Tykerb will probably be the treatment of the future for HER2+. I was on the ALTTO trial that is testing Tykerb vs. Herceptin vs. Tykerb + Herceptin. I was on the Tykerb only arm and it was stopped early because the results were not as good as Herceptin alone. So being done with my year of Tykerb for 6 months, I had to go back and get a year of Herceptin. I just finished that year 4 weeks ago now.

The Neo ALTTO trial showed that Tykerb + Herceptin got MUCH better results than either Tykerb or Herceptin alone and that it was fairly well tolerated. Both Herceptin and Tykerb are extremely expensive, so I imagine insurance companies aren't too thrilled about that. 

If you have any questions about the Tykerb, just ask me or PM me. There are quite a few threads on the Stage IV forum because many of those women get Tykerb.