If you have
breast cancer or
stomach cancer, you may benefit from Herceptin
® (
trastuzumab). This prescription medication belongs to a group of medications called monoclonal antibodies and is designed to bind to a specific protein (called HER2) on the outside of certain cancer cells. When Herceptin binds to these proteins, it prevents the cancer cells from growing and multiplying. This medication can also cause the immune system to destroy the cancer cells.
Because it is not a type of chemotherapy, Herceptin is not as "toxic" as chemotherapy and has less of an effect on healthy, noncancerous cells. Specifically, Herceptin can benefit people who have certain types of cancers that have a high concentration of HER2 receptors.
(To learn more about the drug's benefits, click Herceptin. This article also looks at how Herceptin works, discusses the results of several clinical studies that were done on its effectiveness, and lists possible side effects.)
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