Metastatic colorectal cancer is commonly treated with a regime called FOLFIRI, consisting of 5-fluorouracil, Camptosar (irinotecan), and leucovorin. Long term survival with this treatment has shown to have mediocre results.

Erbitux (cetuximab) is a type of targeted therapy called a monoclonal antibody. Erbitux targets EGFR, the epidermal growth factor receptor, and can reduce the spread of cancer.

The addition of Erbitux to the chemotherapy regime FOLFIRI can improve progression free survival compared to just receiving FOLFIRI alone. The CRYSTAL study compared Erbitux/FOLFIRI to FOLFIRI alone for treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. One thousand patients who had not received any prior therapy after learning of the spread of the disease were enrolled in the Phase III clinical trial.

The study concluded that it was indeed a good idea to include Erbitux with the FOLFIRI in first line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer. Progression free survival was significantly improved.

More and more we are hearing about monoclonal antibody's like Erbitux. Here is some other information posted on The Cancer Blog about Erbitux:

200 companies, 340 immunotherapy drugs, 600 clinical trials

Terminal cancer patients question worth of remaining life

UK patients angry as new bowel cancer drugs are rejected

First time in 45 years new drug for head and neck cancers

Cancer Drug May Prolong Survival

What does it mean to have a triple negative diagnoses of breast cancer? It means that your pathology states that the tumor is estrogen receptor-negative, progesterone receptor-negative and HER2-negative.

I have met many women along my breast cancer journey that are scared because they were diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. Even though the overexpression of HER2 can be a more aggressive breast cancer, the discovery of Herceptin has given these women a targeted therapy for their specific tumor type. Women that have estrogen or progesterone positive breast cancer can take targeted therapies such as Tamoxifen and Aromatase Inhibitors to help prevent a recurrence. After chemotherapy, the triple negative women often feels that they have nothing and chemotherapy is the only course of treatment available to them.

Chemotherapy is the mainstay of therapy for these women, and the need for new effective agents in this setting is crucial. There is interest in EGFR inhibitors for triple negative patients. There is an ongoing trial that is investigating the potential efficacy of cetuximab with or without the chemotherapy drug carboplatin in patients with triple negative metastatic breast cancer. This study is the first one specifically designed to target a breast cancer subtype identified by gene expression analysis, with the hope of identifying a class of agents that could offer triple negative patients a survival benefit that is comparable to that achieved with the use of Herceptin.

According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, triple negative breast cancer patients are more likely to develop distant metastasis. Researchers conducted a study among 482 women with early stage breast cancer. Out of the 482 women, 177 had triple negative disease. All women were treated with lumpectomy and radiation therapy. Some women also received chemotherapy. After five years 67 percent of women with triple negative breast cancer were free of distant metastasis, compared to 82 percent of the other women. Risk of local recurrence was equal in the two groups.

Additional research is needed to identify the optimal treatment strategy for these women.

Lori is driving across the country trying to raise money -- $9,490 to be exact -- for breast cancer research. One dollar for every day that her mother battled breast cancer. And she is close. She has already raised $8,629.40 through sponsors and donations and has traveled a whopping 6,874 miles since she first hit the road in May. She's been through California and Nevada and North Dakota and Utah and Wyoming -- among other places. She camps and hikes and canoes and stops to see friends along the way. Like the friend she will visit today in Minnesota -- a friend who is surviving breast cancer. She stops at roadside attractions and restaurants and charming little overnight resorts. She stops for photos and to write on her blog -- and through it all, she reflects on the mother she lost almost one year ago. And she raises hope for others fighting breast cancer by giving 100 percent of her donations to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. I am impressed. I am honored. I am in awe of what Lori is doing. Because I know I could never do it.

I don't like to travel -- and anything more than a three-hour trek in any direction, by any mode of transportation, is too much for me. And while I have traveled in my life to faraway places -- England, France, Germany, Italy, and more -- I do not enjoy any part of the process that gets me to and from my destinations. I'm not sure why. I just don't like it. But I admire those who venture to distant lands. And those who find excitement in a spontaneous trip. And those who tackle the long road across state lines for the pure thrill of it. And those -- like Lori -- who do it so others can benefit. So others can survive the disease that takes so many lives. The disease that took Lori's mom.