title: Trastuzumab: designer drug or fashionable fad?
abstract: Trastuzumab (Herceptin) is the first monoclonal antibody to be approved for the treatment of a solid tumour and is directed against the c-erb-B2 receptor. c-erb-B2 is a member of the epidermal growth factor family and approximately 25% of breast cancers express such receptors, which appear to confer a poorer prognosis and may be an indicator of resistance to cytotoxic chemotherapy. This review assesses the mechanisms of action of trastuzumab, discusses the measurement of the HER-2/neu gene and its products, and describes the preclinical and clinical studies that have been instrumental to date in the emergence of trastuzumab in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Wessex Cancer Centre, Southampton General Hospital, UK.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Freebairn
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Last
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Illidg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D018734:Genes, erbB-2 / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000276:immunology; D000068878:Trastuzumab
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D000068878:Trastuzumab