Since there is no abstract available we provide the first paragraph

Treating patients with breast cancer or gastric cancer with amplification of HER2 gene or HER2 protein overexpression with the anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody trastuzumab has been characterized as the triumph of translational medicine. Indeed, among targeted drugs that are increasingly approved by the FDA, trastuzumab is the only signal transduction inhibitor that is widely used in the adjuvant setting for the treatment of early-stage breast cancer. All the other targeted drugs have been approved only for administration in the metastatic setting of various cancer types. Despite approval, only a recurrence-free survival but not overall survival benefit with trastuzumab was shown in a recent phase 3 randomized trial with the longer follow-up as compared with shorter follow-up or earlier studies. Here, I discuss the advantages but also the limitations of trastuzumab in the treatment of gastric cancer.

(Citation: Gastric & Breast Cancer 2011; 10(4) 244-246)

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