I strongly recommend all go to www.sabcs.org and

[Lani]

hot 5 then on day 3 symposium.

You will get to watch C Kenneth Osbourne of Baylor discuss the research he has done with Rachel Schiff (one of the people I spoke with about the proposal of starting a tumor registry) which includes that favorite article about curing her2+ bc in mice with herceptin+pertuzumab+ Iressa combo.

The some of the words he uses may be a bit long (phosphorylation, tyrosine kinase) , but the slides are well illustrated and he speaks clearly.

[Lani]

first click on hot 5, then presentations, then day 3 then symposium4.

Hope this helps

[Cathya]

Lani;

Thank you for the suggestion. I watched this and it is excellent. Two things struck me rightly or wrongly. As a her2++ vs very strongly her2+++, I wondered if it would not be likely that Her2, 3 or 4 would be playing a more active role in my cancer than someone strongly her2+ who could even be bonding with another her2. I also wonder if it is possible eventually for those who are originally diagnosed er- to have estrogen become a more active player. I also wonder why everyone isn't receiving herceptin, lapatinib and an estrogen blocker from the getgo.....obviously the estrogen blocker doesn't seem necessary for those er- but I do wonder.

Cathy

[Cathya]

Ooops.....I mean in my comments....if her1, 3 and 4 .....sorry.

Cathy

[lilyecuadorian]

thanks Lani , it was more easy to understand ..Dr Osbourne left me more excited and with more hope I really have faith w/this cocktail when we can start this ? what we can do to help ourself !!!

[Lani]

is that this is cutting edge research and it has only been tried in mice

It may end up that cancer in humans is different (and he mentions Jenny Chang, the clinician in the group is busy organizing clinical trials to determine if these findings hold up in humans), or it may be that blocking these different paths has lots of side effects in people.

Dr Osbourne has told me when I asked a question, that not every her2+ER+ cell line implanted in mice was cured with the three drug combo or the three drug combo plus tamoxifen or estrogen deprivation, so , always, there may be other factors acting (IGFR, etc)

They are only starting to look back at the HERA and No American herceptin trials and characterize who had which her family members positive, compared to how patients did.

It may end up that different peoples' cancers are so different that every person needs to have a microgene array done on their tumor (or circulating tumor cell) and to have a different cocktail prescribed to them than to their
neighbor in the next chair at the infusion center who has the same ER,PR and her2 status.

And yes, it is possible for ER- to turn to ER+ and vice versa when comparing primary tumors to metastases according to the papers I have read. (also her2- to her2+, but almost never her2+ to her2-)

[Cathya]

Lani;

Exactly what test should one have done to get a total genetic picture of their tumor? Living in Canada it is not easy to get genetic testing done (and very expensive) so while I am interested I would like to be sure I am asking for the right test.

Thanks,

Cathy

[Lani]

a variation of it, the 70 gene Mammaprint, developed by a team in the Netherlands, is, but I am not sure if they will provide you with the actual info from the 1000s of genes studied on the microgene array and it can only be run on fresh frozen tissue taken at the time of surgery. A team at MD Anderson is also trying to offer a test which will document the relevant genes in all types of breast cancer for treatment decisions, but it is not yet commercially available.

I try to post interesting, helpful and/or hopeful items that I hear at meetings and that I read--some things are immediately available (eg Boswellia serrata) others are cutting edge findings from research many of which are not yet available and certainly are not "standard of care" everywhere.

Unfortunately when we talk about personalized treatment of cancer, we are not there yet. But we might speed things up if we keep informed and push our government to fund cancer research.

[eric]

Sorry but I don't see Hot 5. Any other direction?

[alw]

Try this:

http://209.196.53.174/2007/hot5/video/popup.html?iccPlayerType=icc

Then "Presentations" (on the left)
Then "Day 3"
Then "Minisymposium 4"

[eric]

Thank you Amy. Good piece and it really helped me understand things more clearly

[hutchibk]

I sat in his talk in person (w/Chrissy) and it really blew me away. I am so very encouraged by the pace at which they seem to be unraveling the HER 1,2,3,4 network and the Pten and Tyrosine kinase aspects. I am very encouraged. Hurry Dr Osborne!