What chemo goes with Herceptin?

Herceptin is approved, in combination with chemotherapy (cisplatin and either capecitabine or 5-fluorouracil), for the treatment of HER2-positive metastatic cancer of the stomach or gastroesophageal junction (where the esophagus meets the stomach) in patients who have not received prior treatment for their metastatic …

Why is Herceptin given with chemo?

Herceptin can be used to treat: early-stage HER2 positive breast cancer, following surgery and/or radiotherapy and chemotherapy, to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back.

Is Herceptin given with chemo?

If you’ve been diagnosed with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer, you’ll likely receive Herceptin together with a chemotherapy regimen. You will receive it for a specific amount of time.

How many Herceptin treatments do I need?

If you’re having trastuzumab to treat primary breast cancer after surgery it’s usually given for one year (around 18 cycles). If you are having trastuzumab before surgery you will usually have four to six cycles.

How long is chemo for HER2-positive?

Cycles can last anywhere from about two to four weeks, depending on the combination of drugs. Chemotherapy generally lasts about three to six months. The total length of chemotherapy treatment may vary depending on the stage of breast cancer and a number of other factors.

Is Herceptin effective without chemo?

Disease-free survival is how long the women lived without the cancer coming back. Overall survival is how long the women lived, whether or not the cancer came back. Three-year disease-free survival rates were: 89.5% for women treated with Herceptin alone.

How effective is Herceptin without chemo?

Does HER2-positive mean chemotherapy?

When a cancer is HER2-positive, it means that the cancer cells make too much HER2 protein, which can cause tumors to grow more rapidly than with other forms of breast cancer. Drugs that target the HER2 proteins are the primary treatment for this type of breast cancer, given along with chemotherapy.

Do you have to have chemo if HER2-positive?

Because HER2-positive cancer is considered more aggressive than HER2-negative breast cancer, it is usually treated with chemotherapy after surgery to reduce recurrence risk.

Is chemo necessary for HER2 positive?

Trastuzumab and chemotherapy are even recommended for women with very small, HER2-positive breast cancers. Tumors as small as 0.5 cm often warrant such treatment.