Gemcitabine and trastuzumab combinations for patients with metastatic breast cancer overexpressing HER2/neu.

In HER2/neu-positive metastatic breast cancer, the combination of chemotherapy and trastuzumab has become a standard of care. This review discusses HER2/neu overexpression in breast cancer and the use of trastuzumab-based therapies. Specifically, the rationale for a gemcitabine/trastuzumab combination in this disease entity and the available clinical data on the use of the combination are discussed. Response rates of 12%-42% have been seen with single-agent gemcitabine and 37%-62% with trastuzumab/gemcitabine combinations. Further work is currently ongoing to examine this promising combination.