Advances in therapy
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Advances in therapy · Jul 2009
ReviewCardiotoxicity associated with trastuzumab treatment of HER2+ breast cancer.
Although having high clinical efficacy in the treatment of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2+) metastatic breast cancer, trastuzumab has been associated with cardiotoxicity, and the etiology and pathogenesis of this condition is currently under investigation. ⋯ The risk of cardiac dysfunction associated with trastuzumab can be justified given the increase in overall survival. This risk is lower when trastuzumab is given as monotherapy. The paradigm for cardiologists remains the same: treat the cancer effectively whilst preventing cardiotoxicity.