|
Hi Cynthia,
I'm not sure there is a 'state of the art' therapy for Her2+ disease-- obviously including Herceptin is the key now for early stage patients. There seem to be some alternative 'cocktails' out there, although they've not been tested head to head. In other words, A/C +Taxol & Herceptin has not been tested against A/C + Taxotere & Herceptin. (As far as I know)
Some cancer centers use dose dense therapy as their 'standard of care', but the early stage Herceptin studies that were announced last year used the standard three week chemo schedule. It is my understanding that Taxol is used in the dose dense protocal, so that is why some of us received Taxol instead of Taxotere.
There's also been data released on Carboplatnium+Taxol+Herceptin-- it appears to be as effective as A/C +T & Herceptin (standard 3 week dosing schedule) but less damaging to the heart.
However, there may be an increase in efficacy for the A/C + Taxol & Herceptin when administered on a dose dense schedule. That isn't known because the studies haven't been done yet, but it may be reasonable to assume given that dose dense has been shown to be more effective in Her2+ disease.
I hope this helps.
Good luck to your friend.
Jen
|