Perjeta (chemical name: pertuzumab) used in combination with Herceptin (chemical name: trastuzumab
Trastuzumab
Trastuzumab is used alone or with other medications to treat certain types of breast cancer. It is also used along with other medications to treat certain types of stomach cancer. The types of cancers trastuzumab is used to treat are tumors that produce more than the normal amount of a certain substance called HER2 protein.
Docetaxel
This medication is used to treat cancer.
Docetaxel
This medication is used to treat cancer.
Full Answer
What happens when Herceptin treatment is finished?
Herceptin can help control the growth of cancer cells that contain high amounts of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). HER2 is found in all human cells. It controls cell growth and repair. High levels of HER2 are found in some types of breast, oesophageal and stomach cancer, which helps the cancer cells grow and survive.
How long can you be on Herceptin?
Women treated with 9 weeks of Herceptin had fewer heart problems, but shorter disease-free survival. Disease-free survival is how long the women lived without a cancer recurrence. The researchers recommended that 1 year of Herceptin remain the standard of care. The research was published in the September 2018 issue of the journal JAMA Oncology.
Does Herceptin cause weight loss?
Weight loss is found among people who take Herceptin, especially for people who are female, 50-59 old, have been taking the drug for 1 - 6 months. The phase IV clinical study analyzes which people take Herceptin and have Weight loss.
Can Herceptin be taken before or after a hormonal therapy?
The following supplements generally have been found to be safe and beneficial for HER2+ patients and survivors on Herceptin: Avoid taking supplements during the two days before, the day of, and the day after any Herceptin and/or chemotherapy treatment. Please consult your oncology team for advice concerning your situation and dosages.
What comes after Herceptin?
After Herceptin treatment, your doctor will monitor you regularly for cancer progression, advise you not to become pregnant for at least 7 months (if you are of childbearing potential), and test your heart every 6 months for at least 2 years, because there is a higher risk of developing long-term heart damage in people ...
How long can you be on Herceptin and Perjeta?
Bottom Line. For the treatment of HER2+ early breast cancer, Perjeta treatment is usually continued for one year (up to 18 cycles) along with Herceptin treatment. These medications are given in the clinic on the same day. You will receive these medicines through your vein by an intravenous (IV) infusion.
What is the latest treatment for metastatic breast cancer?
In March 2019 , the FDA approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq), a new type of drug known as a PD-L1 inhibitor. Atezolizumab is approved for people with locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) that can't be surgically removed, or whose tumors express a protein called PD-L1.
What is the best treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer?
HER2-directed therapy — Most women with HER2-positive breast cancer will receive one or more chemotherapy drugs plus trastuzumab, the anti-HER2 antibody. Many studies have shown that these treatments dramatically improve survival for women with HER2-positive breast cancer.
What happens after Herceptin treatment ends?
After your treatment ends, your doctor will test your heart every 6 months for at least 2 years. Seek emergency medical help if you're taking Herceptin and you develop any symptoms of heart failure. They include: shortness of breath.
Can you take Herceptin for life?
Treatment with Herceptin generally lasts for 1 year unless side effects become unmanageable. Herceptin is only given as an intravenous (IV) infusion. * There are 3 ways Herceptin can be used: As part of a treatment course including the chemotherapy drugs doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and either paclitaxel or docetaxel ...
Can you live 30 years with metastatic breast cancer?
Many women live for decades with metastatic breast cancer. According to a 2017 article in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 34 percent of women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer have been living with the disease for five years or longer.
What is the longest someone has lived with metastatic breast cancer?
She survived for 18 years after the diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) while maintaining a good quality of life. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case in the literature with the longest overall survival in a patient with MBC.
What is the life expectancy of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer?
However, it's more likely to affect younger women. Also, less than 20 percent of all breast cancers are HER2-positive....5-year survival rates for all breast cancers.Stage at diagnosis5-year relative survival rateRegional85.8 percentDistant (or metastatic)29 percent2 more rows
Where does HER2-positive breast cancer come back?
Two studies found that even small (1 cm or smaller), early-stage, HER2-positive breast cancers are more likely to come back (recur) and spread to parts of the body away from the breast (metastasize) than small, early-stage, HER2-negative breast cancers.
Can you beat HER2-positive breast cancer?
Because your breast cancer is HER2-positive, your doctor will treat it a special way. This could involve: Chemotherapy. You might get it before surgery to shrink the tumor, after surgery to kill remaining cancer cells, as treatment for cancer that has spread, or combined with other medications.
Where does HER2-positive breast cancer spread first?
Usually in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, common places of spread include the liver, lung, bones, lymph nodes, and unfortunately the brain.
When did the APHINITY trial start?
The APHINITY trial started in 2011, when the standard of care after surgery for early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer was Herceptin and chemotherapy. Based on early results from the APHINITY trial published in 2017, which showed that adding Perjeta to Herceptin and chemotherapy slightly improved survival, the standard ...
Can Perjeta be used after chemo?
These results show that adding Perjeta to Herceptin and chemotherapy after surgery for early-stage HER2-positive disease offers more benefits than Herceptin and chemotherapy alone. Still, recommended treatment for early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer currently is neoadjuvant treatment, which means chemotherapy and Herceptin ...
Is Perjeta the same as Herceptin?
About Perjeta and Herceptin. Both Perjeta and Herceptin are targeted therapy medicines that treat HER2-positive breast cancer by blocking the cancer cells’ ability to receive growth signals. While the medicines’ results are the same, they work in slightly different ways.
Does Perjeta help with breast cancer?
Updated results from the APHINITY trial confirmed that adding Perjeta (chemical name: pertuzumab) to Herceptin (chemical name: trastuzumab) and chemotherapy after surgery for early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer reduces the risk of recurrence (the cancer coming back) and slightly improves survival.
Does Perjeta cause heart failure?
Both Perjeta and Herceptin can cause heart problems, but few women in each treatment group experienced those side effects. Still, women in the Perjeta treatment group were slightly more likely to have heart problems: 0.8% of women treated with Perjeta, Herceptin, and chemotherapy had heart failure.
How does Perjeta work?
Both Herceptin and Perjeta work against HER2-positive breast cancers by blocking the cancer cells' ability to receive growth signals. Both medicines are given intravenously.
How many women in the standard treatment group were alive with no recurrence?
91.2% of the women in the standard treatment group were alive with no recurrence. This slight difference also wasn’t statistically significant. Breast cancer that is hormone-receptor-negative and/or node-positive is considered to have a higher recurrence risk.
Does Perjeta work against HER2?
Both Herceptin and Perjeta work against HER2-positive breast cancers by blocking the cancer cells' ability to receive growth signals .
Does Perjeta help with metastatic breast cancer?
Perjeta, also in combination with Herceptin and Taxotere, also has been shown to improve survival in women diagnosed with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Metastatic breast cancer is cancer that has spread away from the breast to another part of the body, such as the bones or liver. So doctors wondered if adding Perjeta to ...
Can you use Perjeta after breast surgery?
Doctors call treatments given after surgery “adjuvant” treatments. Early results from a study suggest that adding Perjeta to Herceptin and chemotherapy after surgery to treat early-stage, HER2-positive breast cancer slightly improves survival; women diagnosed with high-risk, HER2-positive, early-stage disease got more benefits.
Does Perjeta cause heart problems?
Both Perjeta and Herceptin can cause heart problems, but few women in each treatment group experienced those side effects. Still, women in the Perjeta treatment group were slightly more likely to have heart problems:
Official Answer
Herceptin and Perjeta work together by blocking the HER2 receptor, but instead of blocking the HER2 receptor in the same place, they each block separate areas, which means that when used together they are more effective at reducing breast cancer cell growth.
How do they work?
Herceptin (generic name: trastuzumab) and Perjeta (generic name: pertuzumab) are HER2 inhibitors so work by binding to HER2 receptor which:
What is the name of the drug that is used to treat HER2?
On June 29, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the fixed-dose combination of Herceptin (chemical name: trastuzumab), Perjeta (chemical name: pertuzumab), and hyaluronidase-zzxf to treat all stages of HER2-positive breast cancer in combination with chemotherapy. The brand name of the medicine is Phesgo, ...
What is a subcutaneous injection?
When a medicine is injected under the skin, it’s called a subcutaneous injection. Phesgo can be used in combination with chemotherapy: before surgery to treat early-stage or inflammatory HER2-positive breast cancer. after surgery to treat early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer with a high risk of recurrence.
How does phesgo work?
Both Herceptin and Perjeta are HER2 inhibitors. They work against HER2-positive breast cancer by blocking the chemical signals that tell the cancer cells to grow. Traditionally, Herceptin and Perjeta are given intravenously, which means they’re delivered directly into your bloodstream through an IV or a port.
Can Perjeta cause hair loss?
Both Herceptin and Perjeta can cause side effects, some of them severe. Giving the medicines as an injection doesn’t cause any different or more severe side effects. The most common side effects of Phesgo when given with chemotherapy to treat early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer are: hair loss. nausea.
Is phesgo approved for breast cancer?
FDA Approves Phesgo: Perjeta and Herceptin Combo Injection for HER2-Positive Breast Cancer. Once you create an account at Breastcancer.org, you can enter information about your breast cancer diagnosis (e.g. breast cancer stage), plan your treatments, and track your progress through treatments.
Is phesgo safe to inject?
The FDA’s approval of Phesgo is based on results from the FeDeriCa study, which found that injecting Phesgo was just as effective and safe as giving Herceptin and Perjeta through an IV.
Can phesgo be used after surgery?
after surgery to treat early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer with a high risk of recurrence. Phesgo also can be used in combination with Taxotere (chemical name: docetaxel) to treat HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer that has not been treated with anti-HER2 therapy or chemotherapy. “Currently, most patients with HER2-positive breast cancer ...
How long after surgery can you take Perjeta?
If you start Perjeta and Herceptin-based therapy before surgery, you may continue to get it after surgery to complete 1 year (up to a total of 18 cycles).
What is the treatment for HER2 receptors?
Perjeta is given with another targeted treatment called Herceptin (trastuzumab), which also targets HER2 receptors, but in a different way. You will also usually receive chemotherapy treatments during your Perjeta and Herceptin regimen.
How long does Perjeta last?
For the treatment of HER2+ early breast cancer, Perjeta treatment is usually continued for one year (up to 18 cycles) along with Herceptin treatment. These medications are given in the clinic on the same day. You will receive these medicines through your vein by an intravenous (IV) infusion.
How often should I stop Perjeta?
Official Answer. When Perjeta (generic name: pertuzumab) and Herceptin (generic name: trastuzumab) are used to treat HER2+ early breast cancer as adjuvant treatment (after surgery), this regimen may be continued every 3 weeks for one year (up to 18 cycles). You may need to stop treatment early due to side effects or if your disease returns.
What is Perjeta used for?
Perjeta is a prescription medication approved by the FDA to treat HER2+ early breast cancer or metastatic breast cancer (cancer that has spread to different parts of the body). It is a member of the HER2 inhibitor drug class.
Can you stop Perjeta for breast cancer?
You may need to stop treatment early due to disease progression or side effects. For treatment of HER2+ metastatic breast cancer, you will receive Perjeta and Herceptin until the medicine no longer controls your breast cancer or you experience side effects from the medicine that require you to stop treatment. ...
