Three New Personalized Medicines for Breast Cancer Excites Dr. Mai Brooks as the FDA Approves Their Usage
Thousand Oaks, California (PRWEB) April 03, 2014 -- As the Cancer society continues research for breast cancer, several options have emerged. Of these options three drugs have been approved by the FDA for usage as treatment and no one is more excited than Dr. Mai Brooks.
Perjeta (pertuzumab)
In September 2013, the FDA approved Perjeta for use in combination with Herceptin (trastuzumab) and docetaxel for the neoadjuvant (prior to surgery) treatment of patients with HER2-positive, locally advanced, inflammatory or early-stage breast cancer (either greater than 2 cm in diameter or node positive). Pertuzumab is an antibody that targets the extracellular dimerization domain of HER2, and thereby blocks ligand-dependent heterodimerization of HER2 with other HER family members. Clinical trials have shown that neoadjuvant therapy with this combination resulted in a 39% complete response rate, meaning that cancer can not be found at the time of surgery. This rate is superior to any other existing neoadjuvant treatments.
Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine)
The FDA approved Kadcyla in February 2013. Kadcyla is a HER2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate. Upon binding to the HER2 receptor, ado-trastuzumab emtansine results in intracellular release of DM1-containing cytotoxic catabolites. Binding of DM1 to tubulin disrupts microtubule networks in the cell, which results in tumor cell death. Dr. Mai Brooks says Kadcyla is indicated for patients with HER2-positive, metastatic breast cancer who previously received Herceptin and a taxane, separately or in combination. A large clinical trial has shown that this new drug gave patients a median overall survival of 31 months, in comparison to 25 months with other drugs.
Afinitor (everolimus)
In July 2012, the FDA approved Afinitor for the treatment of postmenopausal women with advanced hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer in combination with exemestane, after failure of treatment with other hormone blocker pills. The tumors in these cases essentially developed resistance to existing hormone blocker pills. Afinitor is an inhibitor of mTOR, which is important for cancer cell proliferation. A large clinical trial yielded a median progression-free survival of 8 months for patients receiving this new drug, versus 3 months for those on placebo. The final analysis of overall survival is expected to occur in June 2014.
Dr. Mai Brooks is a Board Certified Surgical Oncologist with offices in Thousand Oaks, CA. To request an appointment with Dr. Brooks, you may call her at (805) 379-4677 or visit her website at http://drbrooksmd.com/.
Dr. Mai Brooks, Dr. Brooks MD, http://drbrooksmd.com/, 805-379-4677, [email protected]
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