Remember the new drug that we talked about a few months back that was being tested as another possible treatment for breast cancer after surgery had already been exercised, called Herceptin? 

Well, it appears the drug has now won an even more expansive FDA approval after breast cancer research has shown the drug to be safe and effective enough for use on women who have already undergone surgery. 

Apparently the drug has been shown to be beneficial for women who have undergone surgery to remove cancerous lumps or to a complete mastectomy.  It had shown that the women treated with Herceptin were less likely to have a relapse of cancer for three years after their initial treatment, than the women who were treated with just chemotherapy. 

The catch to Herceptin is that it cannot be used on every patient with breast cancer, only breast cancer patients who produce too much of a certain protein are eligible or will respond favorably to the Herceptin treatment.  This only accounts for roughly 20% of breast cancer patients, unfortunately, who can benefit from the Herceptin drug.

Another “catch” to Herceptin is that it cannot be used by patients who have a history of heart problems of heart frailties, since it can cause heart failure in those patients, and should be a precaution oncologists are well versed in.   

 

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Posted in Breast Cancer Prevention by Breast News Girl No Comments Yet