Herceptin, a “Wonder Drug”?
Dr. David Miles has a point when he criticized some of his colleagues clamoring over the “wonders” of Herceptin.
Herceptin is a drug that is often classified as a “molecular” therapy because it targets a growth factor receptor that is overexpressed (overproduced) in some breast cancer cells. This receptor is a member of the “Her-2″ family of growth factors, which is why the drug was named Herceptin.
The reason why Dr. Miles was critical was that Herceptin doesn’t work for all breast cancers - only those breast cancers that have been tested as “Her-2 positive” meaning that the cancer cells are the type that overproduce this growth factor.
For breast cancers that do not overexpress this growth factor are “Her-2 negative” and would not respond to Herceptin.
While Herceptin may benefit breast cancer patients whose cancer cells are Her-2+, the media attention about Herceptin and other similar “targeted therapies” can sometimes mislead patients into thinking that these drugs would work for all cancer patients.
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