The HER2 gene is best known for its role in breast cancer. Having this faulty gene increases a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. But the influence of HER2 may be far more wide-reaching.

HER2-positive breast cancers are more aggressive forms of breast cancer. These tumors contain a protein that promotes cancer cell growth. HER2-positive breast cancers can also be driven by the hormone estrogen.

You may have heard of HER2-positive breast cancer. You may not know that this gene can also play a role in lung cancer. And anti-HER2 medications may be useful in treating the world’s most common cancer.

Aggressive breast cancer requires aggressive treatment. The therapy for one menacing type of breast cancer – HER2-positive – almost always involves chemotherapy.  Maybe not for everyone, though.

In late February, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a new medication to treat HER2-positive breast cancer. The medication works by zeroing in on the HER2 proteins and then blasting them with a powerful chemotherapy agent.

Herceptin (trastuzumab) is a leading medication used to treat a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer, known as HER2-positive. Researchers are now suggesting the medicine may be useful in treating other forms of breast cancer.

Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer have a new medication to treat the disease in its late stages, after it has started to spread.

The standard of care for HER2-positive breast cancer is Herceptin ( trastuzumab ). Over time, though, this aggressive cancer can become resistant to the medication. New research may have discovered a way around this resistance.

Herceptin is the standard medication for treating HER2-positive breast cancer. There has been some question about how long this treatment should last. A new study has answered that question.

Scientists have known for a while that some chemotherapy agents can cause heart disease in some patients. This complication is now being seen in some women taking a popular breast cancer drug.