On Tuesday, researchers announced that a three-drug cocktail may help women with HER2-positive breast cancer better than any other drug used on its own. About one quarter of women with breast cancer make up this HER2 category.

Tests on mice revealed using the three drugs along with breast cancer drug tamoxifen helped wipe out tumors altogether. And the tumors did not come back. This is the first time mice were cured of a very aggressive human breast tumor. Incidentally, when a single drug was used, tumors returned within several weeks.

The three wonder drugs used in this study -- all are monoclonal antibodies that precisely target certain aspects of tumors -- are the experimental drug pertuzumab; trastuzumab, also known as Herceptin; and gefitinib, or Iressa.

Published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, this study supports the notion that HER2-positive tumors eventually become resistant to one drug and attacking them on several fronts seems to work better.

A therapy that may block further metastasis from breast cancer is being studied in the lab. The monoclonal antibody, known as JAA-F11, was shown to create a survival advantage in mice with breast cancer and substantially reduce the development of lung metastasis.

The monoclonal antibody inhibited the adhesion to the breast tumor cells to endothelial cells, which would block a key step in metastasis. The study showed that 53 percent of treated mice had no visible lung metastasis.

Dr. Rittenhouse-Olson, of the University at Buffalo, New York, concluded "If JAA-F11 were linked to a radioactive compound, it may be successful in conjunction with current chemotherapy in decreasing or eliminating the tumor".

Understanding more about antibodies, antigens and monoclonal antibodies:

Disease causing bacteria and viruses, known as antigens, are recognized by the body's own immune system as invaders. Our natural defenses against these infectious agents are antibodies, proteins that seek out the antigens and help destroy them.

Each antibody binds to and attacks one specific antigen. Antibodies also can continue resistance, for example, we can acquire chickenpox when we are children and most times never experience the disease again.

This characteristic of antibodies achieving resistance makes it possible to develop vaccines. A vaccine when entered into the body, stimulates the production of antibodies against the specific antigen.

Monoclonal antibody technology allow us to produce large amounts of pure antibodies obtaining cells that produce antibodies naturally, in effect having a factory to produce antibodies that worked around the clock. The antibodies are called monoclonal because they come from only one type of cell.

Researchers at M.D. Anderson report on long-term cardiac status of patients receiving Herceptin. Trastuzumab (Herceptin), an anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody, is highly effective for treating HER2 overexpressing invasive breast cancer. In patients with HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer, Herceptin plus chemotherapy improved disease progression and overall survival compared with chemotherapy alone.

The study included patients who received Herceptin for at least one year. Most patients with Herceptin associated cardiac toxicity recovered completely, and many were re-treated with Herceptin without additional cardiac toxicity. Some patients did not discontinue use of Herceptin despite cardiac dysfunction.

This report suggests that patients who experience Herceptin induced cardiac toxicity should be managed with cardiologists and decisions to continue or resume Herceptin must be made after careful discussion of potential benefits and risks associated with further therapy.

Yesterday the Food and Drug Administration approved the drug Vectibix for patients who have metastatic colon cancer. Vectibix is to be given by IV following standard chemotherapy treatments. The FDA approved the drug after it showed effectiveness in slowing tumor growth and, in some cases, reduced tumor size.

Steven Galson, MD,MPH, the director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research said "This approval adds a treatment option for patients with an advanced stage of a disease that can be life threatening".

Vectibix is a monoclonal antibody, scientists can make monoclonal antibodies that react with specific antigens on certain types of cancer cells. As researchers discover more cancer associated antigens, they will be able to direct monoclonal antibodies against more and more cancers.

Hormone refractory prostate cancer is when the prostate cancer cells continue to grow after an initial period of success with hormonal therapy. Most prostate cancers are hormone dependent and require male sex hormones to grow, usually over time the prostate cancer cells develop the ability to grow in the absence of the male hormones.

In this randomized Phase III trial, men with hormone refractory prostate cancer that has metastasized will receive standard chemotherapy with the drugs docetaxel and prednisone. Half of the participants will be randomly assigned to additionally receive treatment with a monoclonal antibody called bevacizumab (Avastin).

Avastin works by stopping some cancers from developing new blood vessels. This reduces the cancer's supply of oxygen and nutrients, which causes the tumor to shrink, or at least to stop growing. Drugs that interfere with blood vessel growth in this way are called angiogenesis inhibitors or anti-angiogenics.

This Phase III trial will answer the question of whether adding bevacizaumab to docetaxal and prednisone actually does improve survival over the current standard of care.

You can join this trial that researchers will enroll 1,020 men with metatastic prostate cancer that is progressing despite hormone therapy by going to see the list of eligibility criteria.