Challenges in the treatment of ErbB2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer

This article reviews the challenges and future options in the treatment of ErbB2- positive metastatic breast cancer. It summarizes a presentation from a symposium that was held at the ECCO 14 congress in 2007.Despite great progress in the management of ErbB2-positive metastatic breast cancer, significant challenges remain in these patients. Many patients do not respond to trastuzumab-containing regimens or develop progressive disease within 1 year. Continuing trastuzumab in these patients has yet to show proven clinical benefit in prospective studies. Several targeted agents have been developed to overcome the limitations of current targeted therapy for ErbB2-positive breast cancer. One such agent, lapatinib, was recently approved in Europe in combination with capecitabine in patients previously treated with trastuzumab in the metastatic setting. The intracellular site of action of lapatinib may underlie substantial clinical benefit.Based on available data to date, novel ErbB2-targeted therapies may hold significant promise in the management of ErbB2-positive metastatic breast cancer.