Herceptin

There are various side effects related to Trastuzumab such as sore throat, fever, chills, excessive tiredness, pale skin, nosebleeds, and other unusual bruising or bleeding. One can also experience stomach pain, seizures, hallucinations, muscle cramps, and spasms. Along with that, nausea or vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue, rapid heart beat, discoloration of urine; decreased amount of urine, difficulty in urinating, pain when urinating, and other signs of infection can also be observed with the use of Trastuzumab. You should call your doctor immediately if you notice any such symptoms.

Women of child-bearing age should use effective contraception during Trastuzumab therapy and for 7 months after completing the treatment. You can plan your pregnancy after 7 months of treatment with Trastuzumab.

Patients with early breast cancer should take Trastuzumab for 1 year or until disease recurs, whichever occurs first. It is not advised to extend the treatment beyond 1 year in patients of early breast cancer.

No, fasting is not required before administering Trastuzumab. It should be given under the guidance of a doctor who is experienced in giving cancer chemotherapy and should be given only by a healthcare professional.

There are 2 different formulations available for administration of Trastuzumab, one is given as an infusion into a vein (intravenous infusion) and the other is given as an injection under the skin (subcutaneous injection). It is important to check the product labels to ensure that the correct formulation is being given as prescribed. Trastuzumab intravenous formulation is not for subcutaneous use and should be given as an intravenous infusion only. Your doctor may consider switching your Trastuzumab intravenous treatment to Trastuzumab subcutaneous treatment (and vice versa) if considered appropriate for you.

No, Trastuzumab cannot be given in patients with HER2 negative cancer cells. Trastuzumab belongs to class of monoclonal antibody. It binds selectively to a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). HER2 is found, in large amounts, on the surface of some cancer cells. When Trastuzumab binds to HER2, it stops the growth and spread of the cancer cells. Therefore, it is only effective in HER2 positive patients (in which HER2 is present) and will not be beneficial for HER2 negative patients (in which HER2 is not present).

Trastuzumab when used with anthracycline class of anti-cancer medicines (eg doxorubicin) may adversely affect your heart. Hence, your doctor needs to check the health of your heart initially before starting treatment and during treatment.

Heart investigations should be performed at the starting of the treatment. It should be repeated every 3 months during treatment and every 6 months after the discontinuation of treatment until 24 months from the last administration of Trastuzumab. Those patients who already have heart-related problems will require investigations every 12 weeks.