Dec 12, 2005

Hercptin Gets Another Boost

Herceptin is already recognized as a very promising drug in breast caner. It is used both in advanced breast cancer and early stage breast cancer. Recently it was shown that by giving herceptin for one year, early part in combination with chemotherapy and later alone, after breast cancer surgery, the risk of recurrence in early stage breast cancer could be reduced by 50 percent.

The main concern with the herceptin treatment is the heart muscle toxicity, inherent to herceptin, with about 5 to 10 percent of patients receiving herceptin developing heart muscle problems. This has triggered an FDA warning regarding the use of caution with this drug.

Herceptin is a wonderful drug, but it has to be handled with care. The recent San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) has given a boost to the drug, by demonstrating that, giving a shorter duration of herceptin can maintain benefits but minimizes toxicity to heart muscle. Shorter duration of herceptin would also drastically cut down the huge amount of dollar price tag associated with herceptin treatment.

This new research finding is from Finland researchers, who said that nine weeks of Herceptin instead of the usual year prevented recurrences and didn't raise the risk of heart failure.

They make a convincing case for using Herceptin earlier in breast cancer treatment, said Dr. Robert Carlson, a Stanford University breast cancer expert who had no role in the studies.

''The jury is in and the jury has a very strong verdict'' - that virtually all women whose tumors are the type targeted by Herceptin should get the drug, he said.

Sherin      

Do You Read All Of Our Cancer Blogs?

Do you read all of the blogs published by medicineworld.org? Many of our bloggers are busy keeping you updated on the various health related topics. We publish the following blogs at this time.

Cancer blog: I manage the cancer blog with lots of help and support form other bloggers. Through this cancer blog my friends and I try to bring stories of hope for patients with cancer. The cancer blog often republishes important blog posts from other cancer related blogs at Medicineworld.org. If you are searching for a blog that covers wide variety of cancer topics, this may be the one for you.

Breast cancer blog: Breast cancer blog is run by Emily and other bloggers and they bring you the latest stories, news and events that are related to breast cancer. Increasing awareness about breast cancer among women and in the general population is the main goal of this breast cancer blog.

Lung cancer blog: Lung cancer blog is managed by Scott with the help of other bloggers. Through this blog Scott and his friends constantly remind the readers about the dangers of smoking. It's a never-ending struggle against this miserable disease with which a social stigma of smoking is associated.

Colon cancer blog: Colon cancer blog is run by Sue and other bloggers. Sue brings a personal touch to the colon cancer blog since her mother died of colon cancer few years ago. She writes about stories, research news and advances in treatment related to colon cancer.

Prostate cancer blog: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men. American Cancer Society estimates that over 230,000 new cases of prostate cancer occur in the United state every year. This important blog about prostate cancer is run by Mark and other bloggers. This blog brings news, stories, and other personal observations related to prostate cancer.

Medicineworld.org publishes a diabetes watch blog and this blog is run by JoAnn other bloggers. This diabetes watch blog brings you the latest in the field of diabetes. This includes personal stories, advances in diagnosis and treatment, and other observations about diabetes. Improving awareness about diabetes is an important mission of this group.

Janet      

Breast cancer
Every year, more than 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. Breast cancer ranks second as the leading cause of cancer deaths in American women. Until recently breast cancer topped the list of leading causes of cancer deaths in women, but lately lung cancer has claimed the top position. If skin cancer is excluded, breast cancer is the commonest cancer among American women.