Trastuzumab, sold under the brand name Herceptin among others, is a monoclonal antibody used to treat breast cancer and stomach cancer. It is specifically used for cancer that is HER2 receptor positive. It may be used by itself or together with other chemotherapy medication. Trastuzumab is given by slow injection into a vein and injection just under the skin.Common side effects include fever, infection, cough, headache, trouble sleeping, and rash. Other severe side effects include heart failure, allergic reactions, and lung disease. Use during pregnancy may harm the baby. Trastuzumab works by binding to the HER2 receptor and slowing down cell replication.Trastuzumab was approved for medical use in the United States in September 1998, and in the European Union in August 2000. It is on the World Health Organizations List of Essential Medicines. A biosimilar was approved in the European Union in November 2017, and in the United States in December 2018. Medical uses
The safety and efficacy of trastuzumab-containing combination therapies (with chemotherapy, hormone blockers, or lapatinib) for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. The overall hazard ratios (HR) for overall survival and progression free survival were 0.82 and 0.61, respectively. It was difficult to accurately ascertain the true impact of trastuzumab on survival, as in three of the seven trials, over half of the patients in the control arm were allowed to cross-over and receive trastuzumab after their cancer began to progress. Thus, this analysis likely underestimates the true survival benefit associated with trastuzumab treatment in this population.
A study of monoclonal protein levels conducted in Ghana showed a prevalence of MGUS of approximately 5.9% in African men over the age of 50.In 2009, prospective data demonstrated that all or almost all cases of multiple myeloma are preceded by MGUS. In addition to multiple myeloma, MGUS may also progress to Waldenströms macroglobulinemia or primary amyloidosis. See also
Monoclonal gammopathy
Plasma cell dyscrasia
Monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance

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