Targeted Therapy for Breast Cancer / 한양의대학술지

ABSTRACT

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the U.S. and Western Europe and second most common cancer in women in Korea. Targeted therapies for breast cancer are evolving rapidly. Amplification of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)/neu gene occurs in approximately 20% of invasive ductal carcinomas of the breast. Amplification of the HER2/neu gene results in protein overexpression and poor prognosis. The first HER2-targeted approach to reach the clinic was trastuzumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against the extracellular domain of the HER2 protein. Trastuzumab therapy prolongs the survival of patients with metastatic HER2 overexpressing breast cancer and shows dramatic improvements in disease-free survival when used in the adjuvant therapy setting. Other targeted therapies, such as lapatinib, a dual HER1 and HER2 inhibitor, bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting angiogenesis, have been developed in phase III clinical trials. The last decade has shown hopeful progress in breast cancer chemotherapy, especially, targeted therapy. Therefore, emphasis of this review has been placed on targeted drugs, mechanism of action and its use in clinical practice.