MONDAY, Aug. 23, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- A new way to accurately predict how individual breast cancer patients will react to the anticancer drug trastuzumab (Herceptin) has been identified by researchers at the Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston.
This finding could help breast cancer patients who aren't likely to respond to the drug to avoid unnecessary side effects and costs associated with the treatment. The study results also offer scientists new information that may help them find ways to overcome resistance to cancer treatments.
This study found that a deficiency of PTEN, an important tumor suppressor, is an indicator for trastuzumab resistance.
The study appears in the August issue of Cancer Cell.
More information
The American Cancer Society has more about breast cancer.
