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New HER2-Positive Targeting Agents in Clinical Practice

  • Breast Cancer (B Overmoyer, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Overexpression of human epidermal growth factor occurs in approximately 20–25 % of invasive breast cancers. This subtype of breast cancer has been associated with poor clinical outcomes. The development of trastuzumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds to the extracellular domain of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), revolutionized outcomes of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer; however, many patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer eventually become resistant to it. Several newer anti-HER2 agents have been developed, including lapatinib, pertuzumab, and trastuzumab emtansine. These exciting advances in drug development for HER2-positive breast cancer have also led to many challenges, including how to optimally sequence and combine HER2-targeted agents.

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Conflict of Interest

Sara M. Tolaney has received research funding from Genentech.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by the author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Avenue, Yawkey 1257, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Sara Tolaney

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  1. Sara Tolaney
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Correspondence to Sara Tolaney.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Breast Cancer

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Tolaney, S. New HER2-Positive Targeting Agents in Clinical Practice. Curr Oncol Rep 16, 359 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-013-0359-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-013-0359-8

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