Herceptin & Tykerb Together

[her2 newBEE]

Are you sure about this? My wife is on Lapatinib (Tykerb) + Trastuzumab (Herceptin) and this is her 3rd line of treatment. (first 2 were clinical trials). Incidentally, the "nib" drugs are Tyrosine Kinase inhibitors. Tykerb/Lapatinib binds the Her2 receptor from inside the cell. It is also thought to cross the BBB. The "mab" drugs are monoclonal antibodies. While studies have shown Lapatinib + Trastuzumab to be better than Trastuzumab alone, the data does not show an overwhelmingly exciting benefit. Nevertheless, the benefits of crossing the BBB are interesting and the data is increasingly seeming to suggest that hitting multiple targets (even the other HER receptors) is preferred to only using a single targeted therapy. Pertuzumab can't get here fast enough.