Can Herceptin cause pericardial effusion?
The using of trastuzumab increasing significantly during the last two decades for the treatment of breast cancer patients as an adjuvant therapy and for metastatic disease, one of the common side effects of trastuzumab (Herceptin) is cardiac toxicity that manifested as symptomatic or asymptomatic systolic heart failure …
What is the mechanism of action for Herceptin?
Herceptin works by attaching itself to the HER2 receptors on the surface of breast cancer cells and blocking them from receiving growth signals. By blocking the signals, Herceptin can slow or stop the growth of the breast cancer. Herceptin is an example of an immune targeted therapy.
Does Herceptin cause cardiomyopathy?
Heart muscle damage and heart failure are potentially serious side effects of Herceptin. A small study has found that after 3 months of Herceptin treatment, nearly 58% of women had some loss of heart function.
Is Herceptin cardiomyopathy reversible?
Cardiotoxicity from trastuzumab is largely reversible and therefore characterized as causing type II chemotherapy-related cardiac dysfunction.
Why does Herceptin cause cardiotoxicity?
Cardiotoxicity of trastuzumab is considered to be the result of attenuated HER2-mediated signaling in the heart, culminating in decreased functionality of cardiac myocytes. HER2 appears to function as a compensatory mechanism acting against cardiac stress, such as anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity.
Can Herceptin cause low heart rate?
All patients on Herceptin undergo regular cardiac tests, such as an echocardiogram, to look for possible heart damage. “Typically with breast cancer treatment, so many women experience some decline in cardiac function,” Dr. Guglin says. “The heart becomes somewhat weaker.
Does Herceptin cause heart failure?
One of the known side effects of the breast cancer drug trastuzumab (Herceptin) is that it can damage the heart and its ability to pump blood effectively, sometimes resulting in mild heart failure, including shortness of breath and chest pain.
Is Herceptin an aromatase inhibitors?
Drugs called aromatase inhibitors are a type of hormone therapy that doctors often use. If breast cancer cells produce large amounts of a protein called HER2, doctors can use biological therapies such as Herceptin, which target HER2.
Is Herceptin hard on your heart?
