[Adjuvant therapy of breast cancer with trastuzumab]

With the approval of trastuzumab (Herceptin) in 1998, a new era of breast cancer treatment has been heralded. This antibody is directed at the intracellular domain of a member of the epidermal growth factor receptor family, the so-called HER2 receptor. About 25-30% of all breast cancers overexpress this factor, which is associated with a more unfavorable prognosis. Trastuzumab is indicated for patients whose tumor overexpresses HER2. All previous studies on the adjuvant therapy with trastuzumab show very consistent results and provide evidence that the risk of recurrence can be reduced by half by the antibody. Nevertheless, there are still numerous open and controversially discussed questions concerning the use of trastuzumab in adjuvant therapy.