Overexpression of this receptor is associated with increased disease recurrence and poor prognosis. Trastuzumab (TRZ) is a monoclonal antibody that interferes with the HER2 by several suggested mechanisms of action including (1) inhibit HER2 dimerization, which is essential for further signal transduction (2) reduce available HER2 on the cell surface by endocytosis and (3) introduce antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity [36]. The combination of HER2-directed therapy with endocrine therapy is a promising first-line treatment for patients with hormone receptor-positive and HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer that is not imminently life-threatening Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical or symptomatic.

For others, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical the combination of chemotherapy with selleck chemicals HER2-targeted therapy in the first line setting is preferred. Several chemotherapeutic agents appear to be synergistic with trastuzumab (TRZ) (Table 2). Robert et al. reported that TRZ plus multiagent combination chemotherapy (e.g.,

TRZ plus paclitaxel, and carboplatin) improves response rates and progression-free survival, although it also increases toxicity over TRZ plus single-agent chemotherapy. Bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody against VEGFR, acts as an inhibitor of angiogenesis. VEGF is an important signaling protein involved in both vasculogenesis (the formation of the circulatory system) and angiogenesis (the growth of blood vessels from preexisting Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical vasculature). Since angiogenesis is the essential Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical way of providing nutrition to tumors and a fundamental step in the transition of tumors from a dormant state to a malignant one, it serves as important target for anticancer therapy. As monotherapy in metastatic breast cancer, it has only

modest activity (response rate of 9%) [37]. However, Baselga et al. found that bevacizumab in combination with weekly paclitaxel improves progression-free survival in HER2-negative disease [38]. Cetuximab is a monoclonal antibody that targets overexpressed EGFR in various cancers [39]. EGFR is the cell-surface receptor for members of the epidermal growth factor family. Mutations affecting EGFR expression or Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical activity old could result in cancer. EGFR is the most well-known protein overexpressed among triple-negative breast cancer (i.e., lacking expression of the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2 proteins). Although single-agent activity of cetuximab in refractory metastatic breast cancer is limited, cetuximab combined with cisplatin has shown modest activity in patients with triple-negative metastatic breast cancer [38]. Monoclonal antibodies as biologic anticancer agents have shown reduced toxicity while having modest activities. The low response rates due to drug resistance can explain such modest activities. TRZ resistance is developed in about 70% of TRZ-treated breast cancer patients in early treatment period [36] and only small portion of patients (less than 20%) achieved an objective response on cetuximab treatment [40].