[phil]

lapatinib is one. there is a promising her2 tx. for brain mets in phase II trials. ont380, a small molecule drug like lap. in trial it's added to kadcyla. i heard it got fast track approval from fda - so available next yr. ? some stage iv could ask for compassionate use , esp. if they live far from the always too slow, small trials. in a better system ont380 would already be out and be an insurance for her2 stage iv pts who have already had brain mets - an insurance against brain reocc. but we have a lousy approval system due both to pharma and fda and our legislators and advocacy grps indifference. if ont380 was a war weapon that killed ISIS the way it did her2 brain mets in the phase I trial the pentagon would already have it . war. but not us in our war that kills so many . i fight this slow approval system with virtually no compassionate use every chance i get . check out my wife " lorraine's story" on the goldwater institute Right To Try page.
in my opinion , kadcyla is stronger than herc/perj. they are genetics while kad. is genetic (herc) and a very powerful chemo attached together to maximize her2 impact. some evidence suggests kad. passes bbb too. but no clinical trial on that yet . kad. could kill residual her2 cancer in body more than perj/herc and thus keep it from returning to brain . and kad. is a chemo with generally fewer s/e than cap. / lap. my wife is stage iv her2 only but cancer free 5 yrs after kadcyla. she couldnt handle cap and lap. lap with diarrhea and cap with fingers/ feet skin splitting. she progressed on 7 or 8 chemo/genetic combos until kad. came along. she had a high her2 reading on the FISH test - 6 on scale of 10 . actually worked in her favor as Kad. honed in and hammered it . gone. not everyone gets this response but many do.