The novel monoclonal antibody pertuzumab, functions by preventing dimerization of HER-2 (the target of Herceptin) with other members of the human epidermal growth factor family: HER-1, HER-3 and HER-4. In doing so, the cross-talk between receptors is abrogated and downstream signaling is squelched. The most interesting aspect of this reflects the downstream pathways it targets. Pertuzumab inhibits signaling at the PI3K pathway, upstream from mTOR. In cell function analysis, this is the truest sense of the word, a breakthough in metabolomics. Much like genomics aims to unravel the structure of the genome, metabolomics focuses on understanding the many small molecule metabolites that result from a cell's metabolic processes.
http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=54087
The Cancer “Breakthroughs” that Cost Too Much and Do Too Little
Perjeta is not a cure, added to standard treatment with Herceptin. Perjeta gives the average breast cancer patient only about six months more of calm before the disease starts to stir again. Given the limited benefit, the price is startling. A full course of the drug combination will cost $188,000.
Americans spent more than $23 billion last year for cancer drugs, more than we paid for prescriptions to treat anything else. But many oncologists are starting to question what we are getting in return for that bill, whether the war on cancer has become too much of a race to produce the next blockbuster.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newswee...oo-little.html