Pertuzumab its development and potential for use in the treatment of breast cancer

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACTII

LITERATURE REVIEW1

Summary1

Aims1

Findings1

Conclusion2

Key Words2

General Introduction and Background2

Stages of Breast Cancer3

Symptoms of Breast Cancer3

Diagnosis of Breast Cancer4

Current Treatment4

Usage of Pertuzumab in Breast Cancer5

ErbB2 (h-erb-b2 erythroblastic leukemia viral oncogene homolog 2, neuro/glioblastoma derived oncogene homolog (avian) and Breast Cancer6

Mechanisms of action of Pertuzumab7

Exploring acquired resistance to pertuzumab11

Clinical Relevance13

Discussion and Conclusion14

Limitations and Strengths of the Study15

REFERENCES16

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of breast cancer is one of the most debated issues in the British society. This paper presents a literature review on the topic of breast cancer and the usage of pertuzumab for its treatment. Breast cancer originates in the mammary gland, the functional structure of the adult breast. Most breast cancers originate from the epithelial cells of the terminal ductal-lobular unit (TDLU), comprised of the lobule and adjacent ducts.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Summary

Management of breast cancer is transdisciplinary involving clinical examination, imaging diagnostics, pathology, surgery, radiation oncology, and medical oncology. Most treatment regimes begin with some form of surgery for local disease control, followed by local and/or systemic adjuvant therapies (Franklin, et al. 2004, 319). Different types of surgery include: breast conserving surgery (BCS) and modified radical mastectomy (MRM) (Keating, 2012, 353). Complications arising from breast cancer among women have been the most debated issues in recent times. This literature review presents an in-depth knowledge about the clinical effectiveness of pertuzumab in the treatment of breast cancer.

Aims

The aims of this particular literature review are to:

Discuss the prevalence of breast cancer among women

Explore the effectiveness of pertuzumab in the treatment of breast cancer

Explain the clinical relevance of pertuzumab

Findings

Women from all treatment groups were sacrificed at treatment day 144 due to poor general health, which could be associated with the long-term administration of CTX, systemic response to the multiple antibody-based therapies used, or a consequence of bearing tumours for greater than 180 days.

Conclusion

In the pertuzumab-resistance study, pertuzumab was more effective at blocking and delaying tumour growth than any of the other therapeutic strategies, but all therapies showed some delay in tumour growth compared to the group maintained on pertuzumab alone. Pertuzumab tends to slow down the rate of tumour growth, without a complete delay in tumour growth (Franklin, et al. 2004, 35). The anti-tumour effect of these three therapies was similar for approximately 14 days, at which time the tumour growth rate in women treated with pertuzumab or cetuximab began to increase.(Mullen, et al. 2007, 11337).

Key Words

Breast, Cancer, Pertuzumab, Clinical, Treatment, ErbB2, Women General Introduction and Background

Breast cancer originates in the mammary gland, the functional structure of the adult breast. Most breast cancers originate from the epithelial cells of the terminal ductal-lobular unit (TDLU), comprised of the lobule and adjacent ducts. There currently exist two models for the development of breast cancer (Slamon, 2001).

The incidence of breast cancer in developed countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and developing countries of Latin America and South East Asia has revealed astonishing geographical variations. Since the 1940s the incidence of breast cancer among women has ...