Herceptin & Urinary Tract Issues?

oregon · 02-15-2012, 11:39 AM

Hi everyone,

You all are so helpful! This journey would be in the dark without each one of you. I'm a healthy 52 year old . . . until the Breast Cancer diagnosis December of 2010. I'm close to finishing my Herceptin treatments - hurray! In the last few months, I can't sleep without going to the bathroom 10 tens. Now it's progressed to daytime as well. Almost twenty years ago, I was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis (I.C.). It's an autoimmune disease that urologists treat. I had a single treatment and haven't dealt with it since, however it seems as though it may be showing up again. One of the most common symptoms is the frequent urge to urinate - the messages between the bladder and brain get confused and one feels as if they have constantly have a full bladder, and you don't :-(

Anyone dealt with or heard of urinary track issues while on Herceptin?

Thanks again!
Terri

Jackie07 · 02-15-2012, 01:47 PM

Hi Terri,

First and most important thing, I think, is to get a urine analysis to make sure you don't have a urinary tract infection.

I you've had chemo like I did, the treatment put you into menopause and one of the problems could be losing bladder control.

Please let your doctor/oncology nurse know what you've been experiencing.

caya · 02-16-2012, 06:21 AM

Terri I had terrible UTIs while on Herceptin... constantly. I'd finish one antibitotic, and then 10 days - 2 weeks later, had to start another one.

I agree with Jackie, def. let your dr. know about your issues and see what can be done about it.

all the best
caya

ElaineM · 02-16-2012, 11:43 AM

Your doctor should be checking your creatine during blood tests. The next thing would be to ask for a urine test to see if you have an infection. If so, your doctor will probably prescribe antibiotics. You may also want to drink cranberry juice, which prevents bacteria from attaching itself to the bladder walls.

CarolineC · 02-17-2012, 12:21 PM

Hi Terri,

I was also diagnosed with I.C. almost 4 years ago and was on Elmiron for 6 months. I did not have any issues while on Herceptin but I think that was because I had made alot of dietary changes, specifically eliminating coffee, tea and citrus juices because they were thought to irritate the bladder lining. If you weren't given a list of things to avoid you could google interstitial cystitis and there is alot of information about it.

Another juice I eliminated was cranberry juice because although it can help people with UTIs, it is not good for people with I.C.

Hope this helps.

Caroline

Becky · 02-17-2012, 02:14 PM

Another culprit in all of this is the fact that even if you aren't hormone positive, chemo does put you into chemopause or outright menopause. This sudden drop in estrogen levels (compounded by aromatase inhibitors or even Tamoxifen) not only thins the vaginal wall but also thins the bladder. Until the bladder gets used to this, one can experience bladder infections.

laurab · 02-17-2012, 10:31 PM

I just had my last infusion of Herceptin. I never had regular chemo. I did have a problem with urinary tract issues about mid-way through my treatments.
A nurse suggested that I try drinking more water after each treatment. I don't know if that helped , but I haven't been bothered with the problem since.
I am also on Arimidex which confuses matters . I have lots of vaginal dryness and sometimes outright rashes.

Lani · 04-22-2012, 09:33 PM

in november 20110 I started this thread...feel free to see how others responded
(just type bladder dysfunction into search on brown bar above)

bladder dysfunction may be associated with herceptin use--anyone with symptoms?

Urol Int. 2010 Nov 27. [Epub ahead of print]
Observation of de Novo Bladder Dysfunction under Treatment with Her2-neu Antibodies.
Hinkel A, Strumberg D, Noldus J, Pannek J.

Department of Urology, Marienhospital, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Abstract
Purpose: We diagnosed de novo bladder dysfunction in several breast cancer patients under cancer-specific therapy with trastuzumab. The goal of this retrospective analysis was to investigate whether bladder dysfunction is common in a larger population of breast cancer patients receiving trastuzumab therapy. Patients and Methods: We identified 93 patients who received at least two doses of trastuzumab at our institution in the years 2003-2006. 57 of those patients were still alive at the time of this analysis. We mailed a validated global questionnaire for the assessment of incontinence (King's Health Questionnaire, KHQ) to them, additionally asking for bladder dysfunction observed under trastuzumab therapy. Results: 43 (75%) of the patients returned the questionnaire, 11 (25%) of them reporting severe de novo bladder dysfunction under therapy. Significant differences between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients were detected in all KHQ subscales. Previous conditions and surgeries as well as medications, especially hormonal therapy, were excluded as underlying causes. However, there were more patients under taxane-based chemotherapy in the symptomatic group. Conclusions: The epidermal growth factor receptor is involved in the cellular response to mechanical stretch in the urinary bladder. Based on our findings, we hypothesize that interfering with this pathway may well be the cause of symptomatic bladder dysfunction in patients under trastuzumab medication. A prospective study is required to further elucidate this hypothesis.

Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.
PMID: 21109724