In today's paper "New drug promising for cancer Patients"

KathiM
KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
There is a new drug (of course, not approved for America yet) that will work with Xeloda that is called Tykerb. A backup for Herceptin or possible replacement for women who can't take it...
THIS IS WAY COOL!!!!!
Hugs, Kathi

Comments

  • Susan956
    Susan956 Member Posts: 510
    #2
    Kathi,

    Where did you find the information. I am one of the people who cannot take Herceptin... so I would be interested in an alternative.

    Thanks.
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #3
    Susan956 said:

    Kathi,

    Where did you find the information. I am one of the people who cannot take Herceptin... so I would be interested in an alternative.

    Thanks.

    Susan,
    This was in my local paper, called the Press Enterprise. BUT I just googled tykerb (which is the name of this drug) and I got a whole bunch of hits. Seems that clinical trials have started with it, first for bc mets to the brain. But, another talks of HER2+ treatment in general. Hope this helps...
    Hugs, Kathi
  • LesleyH
    LesleyH Member Posts: 370
    #4
    From Amer Society of Clinical Oncology meeting this past weekend.

    Breast cancer patients given GlaxoSmithKline's Tykerb plus the oral chemotherapy drug capecitabine, known by the brand name Xeloda, saw their cancer more effectively controlled than with Xeloda alone. While patients receiving Xeloda alone went 19.7 weeks before their disease got worse, patients on the combination of drugs went 36.9 weeks before their cancer progressed. And while 11 out of 161 patients on Xeloda alone saw their cancer spread to the brain, just four out of 160 patients on the combination saw brain metastases, a condition with significant unmet medical need. Doctors believe that Tykerb, unlike some other breast cancer drugs like Genentech's Herceptin, has the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier to reach brain tumors.

    Switching breast cancer patients from standard treatment to the Pfizer drug Aromasin reduces their risk of death, according to another trial. The study found that patients who made the switch after two to three years on tamoxifen, a commonly used breast cancer treatment, had a 15% lower risk of dying than those who didn't. Researchers also reported a 17% reduction in the risk of cancer spreading to other parts of the body, a 44% lower incidence of cancer developing in the opposite breast and a 24% lower risk of patients experiencing other events like new breast cancer, recurrence of breast cancer or death from something other than breast cancer.

    Hugs.

    Lesley
  • tlmac
    tlmac Member Posts: 272 Member
    #5
    Susan956 said:

    Kathi,

    Where did you find the information. I am one of the people who cannot take Herceptin... so I would be interested in an alternative.

    Thanks.

    In addition to the difference in molecular size, allowing Tykerb to pass through the blood brain barrier, one of Tykerb's major advantages is that, according to GlaxoSmithKline, Tykerb has a "low incidence of heart problems." This is major since many of the women who can no longer take Herceptin had serious heart related side effects.
    terri

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