Sardesai Sagar D, Storniolo Anna Maria
Indiana University Melvin & Bren Simon Cancer Center, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
Womens Health (Lond). 2015 Jun;11(3):281-94. doi: 10.2217/whe.15.9.
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the USA. A quarter of all newly diagnosed cases are characterized by overexpression of HER-2 which is associated with poor prognosis. In March 2007, lapatinib, an oral dual-tyrosine kinase inhibitor was approved in combination with capecitabine for metastatic HER-2-positive breast cancer that has progressed on prior trastuzumab therapy, and in combination with letrozole for postmenopausal women with HER-2 and hormone receptor-positive advanced breast cancer. In the future, lapatinib may play an important role in dual HER-2 blockade with trastuzumab and other targeted agents for women with HER-2-overexpressing breast cancer.
