New treatment, Affitoxin

[Soccermom]

"By MedPage Today Staff
Published: July 29, 2011
A HER2-Targeted Alternative
Early results with a compound called affitoxin suggest it could bypass breast cancer resistance to trastuzumab (Herceptin) by directly killing HER2-positive tumor cells, researchers reported in Clinical Cancer Research.
The agent combines a protein with affinity for HER2 and a modified bacterial toxin. Unlike trastuzumab, which blocks HER2 signaling, affitoxin seeks out and gets absorbed by HER2-positive tumor cells that then die from the toxin.
When tested in mice, the novel therapy completely eradicated large breast tumors and significantly shrank ovarian and gastric tumors as well.
With further study, "affitoxin could offer another therapeutic option for those patients whose tumors no longer respond to Herceptin," the reseachers suggested in a press release."

Anyone familiar with this Drug please chime in,
Marcia