Femera for Er+ Pr- Her2+

forher23

I see that people who are prescribed Fermera are usually not Her2+. My mom was prescribed Femera but she is Er+ Pr- and HER2+. Anyone else? I'm not sure why she would be prescribed this in her case.

BarredOwl

Hi daughter_of_Mrs_Y:

From your other thread, it looks like she was diagnosed with stage ll BC (ER+, PR-, HER2+), and has received chemotherapy plus HER2-targeted therapy (Herceptin). Now Femara (Letrozole), which is a form of "endocrine therapy" in the class of "aromatase inihibitors", is being prescribed. (In post-menopausal women, aromatase inhibitors inhibit the production of estrogen in various tissues, which is mediated by the enzyme aromatase.)

Hormonal therapy (which is really anti-hormonal therapy; also referred to as "endocrine therapy") is prescribed for hormone receptor-positive disease (ER+ and/or PR+), such as your mom's ER+ disease and is standard of care for patients like her. Being HER2+ does not change that.

If you check the profiles of HER2+ patients who are also ER+, you will see many receive some type of endocrine therapy (e.g., tamoxifen, an aromatase inhibitor (e.g., Exemestane (Aromasin®); Letrozole (Femara®); Anastrozole (Arimidex®)).

BarredOwl