A study appearing in the Journal of Clinical Oncology reveals there may be something out there that can extend the lives of patients with recurrent prostate cancer. This something is a new class of anti-cancer targeted drugs that scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles say are quite promising, despite their ineffectiveness in some prostate cancer patients with no previous chemotherapy treatment.
Pertuzumab, a molecular targeted compound that has been used successfully in ovarian cancer patients, has been shown to block the human epidermal growth factor receptor family by binding to and inhibiting the function of HER2 receptors. They essentially block a key pathway that leads to cancer growth. And this blockage can possibly offer a better, longer life for recurrent prostate cancer patients whose diseases no longer respond to traditional chemotherapy.
Pertuzumab, marketed under the brand name Omnitarg by Roche and Genentech, is just one of many targeted cancer therapies that give researchers hope that cancer may one day be a lifetime disease that can be skillfully managed.
1. Hi,
My name is Jenny and I am part of an online community called CarePlace, for people experiencing similar health related issues and their caregivers, including Lung Cancer. We have recently added new Lung Cancer related communities to the site.
As your blog relates to what we are doing at CarePlace, I was wondering if you might be willing to check out our site and let me know if you think it might be helpful to the people who communicate through and with you. People can join multiple communities, share experiences, check out info on medical conditions and treatments and form their own groups within the site.
We have gotten great feedback and as you know the more people in various communities the more outreach and support that happens. Our users have really liked it so far and we are adding new features all the time based on what everyone is telling us.
It’s really important to us to get feedback from people like you about the site as we develop features – the site is www.careplace.com. You can add me as a friend (jend) and let me know what you think.
Thanks in advance!
Jenny (jend)
Posted at 8:36PM on Feb 21st 2007 by Jenny Desmond