From: About.com Breast Cancer
Postmenopausal women who have been diagnosed with HER2 positive,
estrogen receptor sensitive breast cancer can now take advantage of
a drug combination just approved by the FDA. Tykerb (lapatinib) and
Femara (letrozole) are not new drugs for breast cancer, but using
the combination of these to treat advanced breast cancer has just
been studied. Results of the study showed that women with HER2, ER
positive metastatic breast cancer had almost triple the survival
rates of women treated with only Femara. When combined, Tykerb and
Femara extended the lives of patients by 35 weeks, as compared to
13 weeks on Femara alone. When you think about Femara, you may
consider it mostly as the drug that postmenopausal women can take
after primary treatment for breast cancer. Femara blocks aromatase,
p...
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