Study Reveals a Strategy to Reduce Heart Damage Linked to the Breast Cancer Drug Herceptin

Breast cancer patients who take either of two heart medicines while undergoing treatment with Herceptin (trastuzumab) were not protected from the cardiac damage that is a common side effect of Herceptin therapy. This is according to a large, randomized clinical trial presented Sunday, March 11, 2018, at the American College of Cardiology’s 67th Annual Scientific Session in Orlando, Florida.

But the patients did benefit from either of the two common heart drugs if they had already undergone treatment with drugs called anthracyclines before starting Herceptin, or if they were being treated with anthracyclines and Herceptin at the same time. Anthracyclines, such as Adriamycin or Rubex (doxorubicin), are chemotherapy drugs. Both anthracyclines and Herceptin are significant medicines for managing a common type of breast cancer called HER2-positive breast cancer.

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Written by Shari Roan for www.everydayhealth.com