title: Trastuzumab: a new treatment option for HER2-positive metastatic gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer.
abstract: In patients with metastatic gastric cancer, median overall survival with standard chemotherapy remains under 1 year. As such, effective new treatments with acceptable tolerability are urgently needed. Amplification/overexpression of HER2 is reported in approximately 20% of gastric tumors, providing a rationale to investigate trastuzumab, a monoclonal antibody against HER2, in this setting. In the Phase III international Trastuzumab for Gastric Cancer (ToGA) study, the addition of trastuzumab to chemotherapy significantly improved overall survival without compromising safety in patients with HER2-positive metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer. The purpose of this review is to discuss clinical data supporting the role of trastuzumab in metastatic gastric cancer, and consider the optimization of gastric cancer-specific HER2 testing and analysis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology & Medical Oncology, Klinikum Braunschweig, Celler Straße 38, Braunschweig, Germany. medklinik3@klinikum-braunschweig.de
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lordick
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D006801:Humans; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000556:secondary*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D000068878:Trastuzumab; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D000068878:Trastuzumab