title: Trastuzumab in the Treatment of Breast Cancer.
abstract: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in women worldwide, and has an undeniable negative impact on public health. The advent of molecular biology and immunotherapy has made targeted therapeutic interventions possible, providing treatments tailored to the individual characteristics of the patient and the disease. The over-expression of human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) 2 is implicated in the pathophysiology of BC and represents a clinically relevant biomarker for its treatment. Trastuzumab, a recombinant antibody targeting HER2, was the first biological drug approved for the treatment of HER2-positive BC. Although there are currently other anti-HER2 agents available (e.g. pertuzumab and lapatinib), trastuzumab remains the gold standard for treatment of this disease subtype. Nonetheless, concerns have been raised regarding potential cardiotoxicity and treatment resistance. Moreover, several other therapeutic issues remain unclear and have been addressed in an inconsistent way. The current literature lacks a comprehensive review of trastuzumab providing useful information for clinical practice, including pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic aspects, its clinical use, existing controversies and future advances. This detailed review of trastuzumab in the pharmacotherapy of BC attempts to fill this gap.
authors.affiliation: CICS-UBI, Health Sciences Research Centre, University of Beira Interior, Av. Infante D. Henrique, Covilhã, Portugal.
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maximiano
authors.affiliation: CICS-UBI, Health Sciences Research Centre, University of Beira Interior, Av. Infante D. Henrique, Covilhã, Portugal.|Laboratory of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Pólo das Ciências da Saúde, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, Coimbra, Portugal.|CNC, Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.|CICAB, Clinical Research Centre, Extremadura University Hospital and Medical School, Badajoz, Spain.
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Magalhães
authors.affiliation: Lisbon Nursing School (ESEL), Lisbon, Portugal.|CiiEM, Institute of Health Sciences Egas Moniz (ISCSEM), Monte de Caparica, Portugal.
authors.forename: Mara Pereira
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Guerreiro
authors.affiliation: CICS-UBI, Health Sciences Research Centre, University of Beira Interior, Av. Infante D. Henrique, Covilhã, Portugal. manuelaugustomorgado@gmail.com.|Cova da Beira Hospital Centre, E.P.E., Quinta do Alvito, 6200-251, Covilhã, Portugal. manuelaugustomorgado@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morgado
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D000068878:Trastuzumab / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D000068878:Trastuzumab