Molecular Pathology Laboratory Network

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which brings additional attention to the disease that will claim nearly 40,000 lives this year, according the National Cancer Institute.

No matter what month it is, there are scientists and advocates around the world who focus their efforts every day of the year to fight this deadly disease. Earlier this month, researchers presented promising data from a study involving an investigational trastuzumab combination agent in the treatment of advanced breast cancer.

When compared with trastuzumab (Herceptin) plus docetaxel (Taxotere), the antibody-drug conjugate known as trastuzumab-DM1 not only produced a better response rate among patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, but also appeared to cut the rate of side effects in half.

Trastuzumab-DM1 is the first antibody-drug conjugate. It binds together two existing cancer drugs with the aim of delivering both drugs specifically to cancer cells -- trastuzumab, a monoclonal antibody that targets cells that overproduce the protein HER2; and DM1, a chemotherapy agent that targets microtubules.

For information about identifying HER2 status in advanced breast cancer, click here or contact one of our technical service specialists at 800.932.2943.