The role of Herceptin in early breast cancer

Ashok Subramanian¹ and Kefah Mokbel¹^,2

¹St Georges Hospital, Blackshaw Road, Tooting, SW17 0QT, UK

²Brunel Institute of Cancer Genetics, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UK

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International Seminars in Surgical Oncology 2008, 5:9doi:10.1186/1477-7800-5-9


Published:	28 April 2008

Abstract

Herceptin is widely regarded as the most important development in the treatment of breast cancer since Tamoxifen and the development of the multidisciplinary team (MDT). It is particularly exciting from an oncological polint of view as it represents success in the emerging field of specific targeted therapies to specific molecular abnormalities in tumour cells. This review will focus on the nature of the Her2 overexpression and the role of herceptin in the treatment of early breast cancer.