Treatment of patients with HER2 (erbB2) positive breast cancer. A classic example for the transfer of molecular information to the clinic

摘要

The course of breast cancer is very heterogeneous and therefore it is crucial to find a therapeutic concept individually tailored to each patient. There is a need to identify prognostic markers as well predictive factors for the efficacy of the therapy. An important step was the identification of the transmembrane epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), which is expressed in about 20 of breast cancers and is associated with a poor prognosis with short disease-free and overall survival. The HER2-targeted monoclonal antibody trastuzumab has demonstrated significant benefits in the adjuvant and metastatic setting. The oral dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor lapatinib now offers a new option for patients who do not respond to trastuzumab or relapse during or after therapy. The two drugs target the same receptor and block different pathways in the HER2 signaling cascade. Their possibly synergistic effects are currently under investigation in large randomized clinical studies.