The drug was just FDA approved to work in conjunction with the chemotherapy drug Xeloda on women with advanced stages of breast cancer who have not responded to other convention breast cancer therapies. If nothing else, Tykerb offers another dimension to the research of breast cancer and breast cancer treatment.

The new drug, which I think has an interesting name because it almost sounds like “herb”, is a drug conceived of by scientists over at the huge drug company GlaxoSmithKline PLC. It will not come cheap, as most chemotherapy and anti-cancer drugs, at a price of close to $3,000 per month for treatment, but if it works wonders on patients with advanced breast cancer, it very well may be worth its weight in gold.

The results of studies conducted last year showed that the Tykerb drug, when combined with the chemo drug Xeloda, helped to delay the growth of tumors by 8 to 8 1/2 months on patients. Pretty impressive, I’d say.

Tykerb is not without its opponents though, as there is no proof that the drug actually helps to extend the life or the quality of life in patients with the advanced form of the cancer, and this should be the basis of an FDA approval for such a serious drug, according to some.

It’s hard to say, but with promising results, I would also hate to see a drug delayed to market simply for the “what if” factor, if it’s a genuinely beneficial drug.