Trastuzumab - Review of Use and Effectiveness in the Treatment of Her2-Positive Neoplasm

Treating cancers is a challenge that many scientists from around the world face every day. Thanks to the scientific advances, cancers are now divided not only by the organ they affect, but also into subtypes such as histological and molecular. Small molecules present on cancer cells have become the target of molecular drugs, making cancer treatment even more personalized for specific type. One of them is the use of trastuzumab - a targeted monoclonal antibody used in the treatment of cancers with overexpression of the HER2 protein on cell membrane. Trastuzumab inhibits the growth of cancer cells by blocking HER2 receptors. This mechanism is used in the treatment of HER2-positive breast and stomach cancer. In clinical trials, trastuzumab has been shown to have significantly higher rates of disease-free survival, absolute survival rate, median overall survival, progression-free survival and the duration of response than similar therapies without it. This makes it promising and useful in anticancer therapy in some neoplasm types. In addition, the safety profile has been checked and assessed in many respects, taking into account the side effects that this drug causes.