Effective Combination Therapy for Breast Cancer

Medical efforts to cure breast cancer, find the type of effective combination therapy for breast cancer. Therapy with a combination of chemotherapy medicines known antibody significantly extend survival of breast cancer patients who have this type of cancer cell HER-2 positive.

Combining trastuzumab combination therapy that is HER-2 receptor antibody with chemotherapy drugs emtansine. By promising therapies that improve the life expectancy of patients more than standard cancer treatment.

According dr.Arya Wibitomo, head of medical management PT.Roche Indonesia, combination therapy has the advantage of cancer cell killing power is high.

Trastuzumab emtansine is designed to attack and inhibit HER-2 signal and continue chemotherapy directly to the cancer cells with HER-2 positive status. Thus the spread of cancer cells can be prevented.

"The therapy may be referred to as a smart bomb because the target is not on healthy cells. Study results showed increased levels of quality of life of patients and worsening of the disease can be reduced," he said in the presentation of research results EMILIA in Jakarta, Thursday (08/30/12) .

According dr.Dradjat R.Suardi, Sp.B-Onk, examination or cancer cell receptors called immuno histochemistry checks are now a standard procedure in the diagnosis of cancer. The diversity of types of breast cancer necessitate diagnostic detail before deciding which type of therapy will be used.

The patient is said to HER-2 positive if the tumor is found over expression of HER2 and is less sensitive to a particular chemotherapy. Of overall breast cancer patients, about 25 percent have a positive HER-2 receptor is the most vicious.

"In the future treatment will be adjusted on the receptor. Breast cancer patients with HER-2 positive cancer usually the most aggressive because cancer cells have receptors for growth hormone catch," said dr.Dradjat, chief of cancer prevention in RS.Hasan Sadikin, Bandung.

Added dr.Dradjat current cancer treatment with targeted therapy and increased life expectancy of the patient. Government through ASKES has guaranteed reimbursement of cancer medicines.