Lapatinib and Xeloda

catwins

Anyone have experience taking either/or both of these two chemicals?

Joycelouise

No, I haven't had those but
No, I haven't had those but (and perhaps you have already been here) I do like chemocare.com for researching chemo drugs. And of course, my other favorite is the chemo nurses. Best wishes! love, Joyce

pbcsn00

Taking Lapatinib
Hi - I'm in a clinical trial for Lapatinib. I was diagnosed with ductal invasive carcinoma stage 2 (had it in 2 of my 20 lymph nodes) in July and have had a lumpectomy and chemo, currently on 10th treatment of Taxol.

I've taking Lapatinib since September. I take 6 large pills daily and I will take it for a year. In the clinical trial there were 4 groups and I was assigned to the group to ONLY take Lapatinib. In two of the other groups, Lapatinib was taken with Herceptin.

I discussed the risk on not taking Herceptin and only the Lapatinib and my doctor thought that Lapatinib would protect me better than the Herceptin and it didn't require the IV treatments. Lapatinib's advantage to Herceptin is that it has smaller molecules and enters the brain to protect it. Herceptin does not enter the brain.

Because I'm part of the trial, I have had to have to MUGA (heart) scans and 2 EKGs to see if there has been any damage to my heart. Both so far showed no change and looked good.

The only side effect I have experienced is a "rash" on my face. The dcotor has prescribed a topical acne medication that helps and it is easily covered by foundation.

Please let me know if I can answer any other questions.

gdpawel

Tykerb and Xeloda
Cells are the most basic structure of the body. Cells make up tissues, and tissues make up organs, such as the lungs or liver. Each cell is surrounded by a membrane, a thin layer that separates the outside of the cell from the inside.

For a cell to perform necessary functions for the body and respond to its surroundings, it needs to communicate with other cells in the body. Communication occurs through chemical messages in a process called signal transduction. The purpose of these signals is to tell the cell what to do, such as when to grow, divide into two new cells, and die.

Targeted cancer therapies use drugs that block the growth and spread of cancer by interfering with specific molecules involved in the process by which normal cells become cancer cells (carcinogenesis) and tumor growth. By focusing on molecular and cellular changes that are specific to cancer, targeted cancer therapies may be more effective than current treatments and less harmful to normal cells.

However, monoclonal antibodies (like Herceptin) are "large" molecules. These very large molecules don't have a convenient way of getting access to the large majority of cells. Plus, there is multicellular resistance, the drugs affecting only the cells on the outside may not kill these cells if they are in contact with cells on the inside, which are protected from the drug. The cells may pass small molecules back and forth.

Exciting results have come from studies of multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors (like Tykerb), "small" molecules that act on "multiple" receptors in the cancerous cells. Drugs that inhibit/interfere with specific molecules. Basically inhibits various kinases, a type of enzyme that transfers phosphate groups from high-energy donor molecules to specific target molecules.

These new targeted drugs (Tykerb) mostly need to be combined with active chemotherapy (Xeloda) to provide any benefits.

While other clinically-available targetd drugs have been shown to have anti-vascular activity, the anti-vascular activity of Tykerb has not been previously reported. Direct anti-tumor and anti-vascular effects were studied of Tykerb in fresh biopsy specimens of breast cancer and presented at the ASCO Breast Cancer Symposium last September (J Intern Med 264:275-287). Conclusions of the study had shown that Tykerb has superior anti-vascular activity.

MSM1003

Tykerb and Xeloda
Hi, I have been taking them for a month now and my only complaint is in the restroom. I take meds to keep that under control. So far so good for a Stage 4 BC patient.