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Treatment For Breast Cancer Biography
Biological therapy uses the body's own immune system (its antibodies) to fight breast cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells unaffected.
One such antibody is Herceptin, a monoclonal (meaning single) antibody. An antibody is a protein made by the body's own immune system. But Herceptin can work only if the woman carries the HER2 gene in those tumor cells. About 25% of breast cancer patients carry this gene and are considered HER2 positive.
Herceptin is the first-line treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer in combination with chemotherapy drugs. Herceptin may also be used alone, indefinitely for HER2- positive metastatic breast cancer.
Perjeta (pertuzumab) is another monoclonal antibody approved for treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. It is approved for use in combination with Herceptin and the chemotherapy Taxotere.
Another drug of this type is Tykerb. It works in HER2-positive patients when Herceptin is no longer effective. It is used in combination with Xeloda, Femara, or Herceptin.
Other types of antibodies are being researched to fight cancer and include:
Angiogenesis Inhibitors.
These antibodies prevent the growth of new blood vessels, cutting off the supply of oxygen and nutrients to cancer cells. However, the only such drug used for breast cancer, bevacizumab, lost its FDA approval for breast cancer because the drug's risks outweighed its benefits and it didn't improve the overall survival of breast cancer patients.
Signal Transduction Inhibitors.
These antibodies block signals inside the cancer cell that helps the cells divide, stopping the cancer from growing. They are currently being studied to see if they're effective.
Before treatment begins, print out these Questions to Ask to help you better understand your care.
Also see, Follow-Up Care After Your Treatment.
Side Effects of Biological Therapy for Breast Cancer
When biological therapy is used to treat breast cancer, side effects can include:
Allergic reactions
Difficulty breathing
Swelling
Nausea
Fever and chills
Dizziness or weakness
Talk to your doctor about the possible side effects to watch for and what you should do if they occur. The FDA has warned that the treatment with Perjeta may be harmful or fatal to a fetus. Women who are pregnant should not take Perjeta.
Recognizing a Breast Cancer Emergency
If you develop fever and chills, notify your doctor immediately or go to the emergency room. Other symptoms to tell your health care provider about include:
New mouth sores, patches, swollen tongue, or bleeding gums.
Dry, burning, scratchy, or "swollen" throat.
Cough that is new or persistent and produces mucus.
Changes in bladder function, including increased frequency or urgency to go; burning during urination; or blood in your urine.
Changes in gastrointestinal function, including heartburn; nausea, vomiting, constipation, or diarrhea that lasts longer than two or three days; or blood in stools.
Biological therapy for breast cancer takes advantage of the body's own immune or hormonal system to act on cancer cells - while leaving healthy cells relatively intact. This approach is designed to minimize the side effects associated with traditional treatments like chemotherapy.
One strategy is to use antibodies to attack cancer cells or block their activities. An antibody is a protein that can attach to specific proteins in the body, called antigens. Antibodies can be natural, made by one's own immune system, or made artificially. One example of a manufactured antibody is Herceptin.
Herceptin is believed to act in three ways to stop cancer cells from growing quickly and out of control:
It sticks to special receptors on the cancer cells, stopping them from growing.
It signals the body's own natural killer cells to attack the cancer cells.
It can work with chemotherapy medications, stopping cancer cells damaged by chemo from repairing themselves.
But Herceptin can work only if the woman carries the HER-2 gene in those tumor cells. About 25% of breast cancer patients carry this gene. (They are considered HER-2 positive). It currently is the first-line treatment of HER-2-positive metastatic breast cancer used in combination with one of the drugs known as taxanes (Taxotere, Taxol, and Abraxane).
Another form of biological therapy is the use of drugs composed of small molecules that interrupt the hormonal or chemical pathways that cancer cells need to grow. Tykerb is an example of a small molecule that is used in combination with chemotherapy to treat some advanced cases of breast cancer.
One disadvantage of antibody treatment is that it is generally only available by injection. Small molecule treatment can be taken in pill form.
A third drug, Perjeta, has recently been approved by the FDA to treat HER-2-positive metastatic breast cancer used in combination with Herceptin and Taxotere.
Other types of antibodies and small molecules that are being researched to fight breast cancer include:
Angiogenesis inhibitors. These antibodies prevent the growth of new blood vessels, cutting off the supply of oxygen and nutrients to cancer cells. Avastin, which had been used to treat breast cancer, is no longer approved by the FDA because the risks outweigh the benefits.
Signal transduction inhibitors. These antibodies block signals inside the cancer cell that helps the cells divide, stopping the cancer from growing.
Side Effects of Biological Therapy
Side effects of biological therapy can include allergic reactions, difficulty breathing, swelling, nausea, fever or chills, and dizziness or weakness. Talk to your doctor about the possible side effects to watch for.
Recognizing a Cancer Emergency
Call your nurse or doctor about your cancer if you have:
A temperature greater than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit. If you experience any fever and chills, notify your doctor immediately. If you are unable to contact your doctor, go to the emergency room.
New mouth sores or patches, a swollen tongue, or bleeding gums
A dry, burning, scratchy, or "swollen" throat
A cough that is new or persistent and produces mucus
Changes in bladder function, including increased frequency or urgency to go, burning during urination, or blood in your urine
Changes in gastrointestinal function, including heartburn, nausea, vomiting, constipation, or diarrhea that lasts longer than two or three days
Blood in stools
Treatment For Breast Cancer Biography
Biological therapy uses the body's own immune system (its antibodies) to fight breast cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells unaffected.
One such antibody is Herceptin, a monoclonal (meaning single) antibody. An antibody is a protein made by the body's own immune system. But Herceptin can work only if the woman carries the HER2 gene in those tumor cells. About 25% of breast cancer patients carry this gene and are considered HER2 positive.
Herceptin is the first-line treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer in combination with chemotherapy drugs. Herceptin may also be used alone, indefinitely for HER2- positive metastatic breast cancer.
Perjeta (pertuzumab) is another monoclonal antibody approved for treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. It is approved for use in combination with Herceptin and the chemotherapy Taxotere.
Another drug of this type is Tykerb. It works in HER2-positive patients when Herceptin is no longer effective. It is used in combination with Xeloda, Femara, or Herceptin.
Other types of antibodies are being researched to fight cancer and include:
Angiogenesis Inhibitors.
These antibodies prevent the growth of new blood vessels, cutting off the supply of oxygen and nutrients to cancer cells. However, the only such drug used for breast cancer, bevacizumab, lost its FDA approval for breast cancer because the drug's risks outweighed its benefits and it didn't improve the overall survival of breast cancer patients.
Signal Transduction Inhibitors.
These antibodies block signals inside the cancer cell that helps the cells divide, stopping the cancer from growing. They are currently being studied to see if they're effective.
Before treatment begins, print out these Questions to Ask to help you better understand your care.
Also see, Follow-Up Care After Your Treatment.
Side Effects of Biological Therapy for Breast Cancer
When biological therapy is used to treat breast cancer, side effects can include:
Allergic reactions
Difficulty breathing
Swelling
Nausea
Fever and chills
Dizziness or weakness
Talk to your doctor about the possible side effects to watch for and what you should do if they occur. The FDA has warned that the treatment with Perjeta may be harmful or fatal to a fetus. Women who are pregnant should not take Perjeta.
Recognizing a Breast Cancer Emergency
If you develop fever and chills, notify your doctor immediately or go to the emergency room. Other symptoms to tell your health care provider about include:
New mouth sores, patches, swollen tongue, or bleeding gums.
Dry, burning, scratchy, or "swollen" throat.
Cough that is new or persistent and produces mucus.
Changes in bladder function, including increased frequency or urgency to go; burning during urination; or blood in your urine.
Changes in gastrointestinal function, including heartburn; nausea, vomiting, constipation, or diarrhea that lasts longer than two or three days; or blood in stools.
Biological therapy for breast cancer takes advantage of the body's own immune or hormonal system to act on cancer cells - while leaving healthy cells relatively intact. This approach is designed to minimize the side effects associated with traditional treatments like chemotherapy.
One strategy is to use antibodies to attack cancer cells or block their activities. An antibody is a protein that can attach to specific proteins in the body, called antigens. Antibodies can be natural, made by one's own immune system, or made artificially. One example of a manufactured antibody is Herceptin.
Herceptin is believed to act in three ways to stop cancer cells from growing quickly and out of control:
It sticks to special receptors on the cancer cells, stopping them from growing.
It signals the body's own natural killer cells to attack the cancer cells.
It can work with chemotherapy medications, stopping cancer cells damaged by chemo from repairing themselves.
But Herceptin can work only if the woman carries the HER-2 gene in those tumor cells. About 25% of breast cancer patients carry this gene. (They are considered HER-2 positive). It currently is the first-line treatment of HER-2-positive metastatic breast cancer used in combination with one of the drugs known as taxanes (Taxotere, Taxol, and Abraxane).
Another form of biological therapy is the use of drugs composed of small molecules that interrupt the hormonal or chemical pathways that cancer cells need to grow. Tykerb is an example of a small molecule that is used in combination with chemotherapy to treat some advanced cases of breast cancer.
One disadvantage of antibody treatment is that it is generally only available by injection. Small molecule treatment can be taken in pill form.
A third drug, Perjeta, has recently been approved by the FDA to treat HER-2-positive metastatic breast cancer used in combination with Herceptin and Taxotere.
Other types of antibodies and small molecules that are being researched to fight breast cancer include:
Angiogenesis inhibitors. These antibodies prevent the growth of new blood vessels, cutting off the supply of oxygen and nutrients to cancer cells. Avastin, which had been used to treat breast cancer, is no longer approved by the FDA because the risks outweigh the benefits.
Signal transduction inhibitors. These antibodies block signals inside the cancer cell that helps the cells divide, stopping the cancer from growing.
Side Effects of Biological Therapy
Side effects of biological therapy can include allergic reactions, difficulty breathing, swelling, nausea, fever or chills, and dizziness or weakness. Talk to your doctor about the possible side effects to watch for.
Recognizing a Cancer Emergency
Call your nurse or doctor about your cancer if you have:
A temperature greater than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit. If you experience any fever and chills, notify your doctor immediately. If you are unable to contact your doctor, go to the emergency room.
New mouth sores or patches, a swollen tongue, or bleeding gums
A dry, burning, scratchy, or "swollen" throat
A cough that is new or persistent and produces mucus
Changes in bladder function, including increased frequency or urgency to go, burning during urination, or blood in your urine
Changes in gastrointestinal function, including heartburn, nausea, vomiting, constipation, or diarrhea that lasts longer than two or three days
Blood in stools
Treatment For Breast Cancer
Treatment For Breast Cancer
Treatment For Breast Cancer
Treatment For Breast Cancer
Treatment For Breast Cancer
Treatment For Breast Cancer
Treatment For Breast Cancer
Treatment For Breast Cancer
Treatment For Breast Cancer
Treatment For Breast Cancer
