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How Does Neratinib Works?
What Is Neratinib? Neratinib(CAS: 698387-09-6) is a targeted (biological) therapy drug that blocks the growth and spread of breast cancer. Neratinib is the drug’s non-branded name. Its brand name is Nerlynx.
Who Might Need Neratinib? Neratinib may be offered to people who have primary breast cancer that is both: ❶ Hormone receptor positive (breast cancer that’s stimulated to grow by the hormones oestrogen or progesterone) ❷ HER2 positive (breast cancer that has a higher than normal level of the HER2 protein)
How To Know Whether Neratinib Is Right For You? There are several tests used to find out if breast cancer is HER2-positive. Two of the most common tests are: ❶ IHC (ImmunoHistoChemistry)
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The IHC test uses a chemical dye to stain the HER2 proteins. The IHC gives a score of 0 to 3+ that measures the amount of HER2 proteins on the surface of cells in a breast cancer tissue sample. If the score is 0 to 1+, it’s considered HER2-negative. If the score is 2+, it’s considered borderline. A score of 3+ is considered HER2-positive. If the IHC test results are borderline, it’s likely that a FISH test will be done on a sample of the cancer tissue to determine if the cancer is HER2-positive. ❷ FISH (Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization)
The FISH test uses special labels that are attached to the HER2 proteins. The special labels have chemicals added to them so they change color and glow in the dark when they attach to the HER2 proteins. This test is the most accurate, but it is more expensive and takes longer to return results. This is why an IHC test is usually the first test done to see if a cancer is HER2-positive. With the FISH test, you get a score of either positive or negative (some hospitals call a negative test result “zero” ).
How Does Neratinib Works? HER2-positive breast cancers make too much of the HER2 protein. The HER2 protein sits on the surface of cancer cells and receives signals that tell the cancer to grow and spread. About one out of every four breast cancers is HER2-positive. HER2-positive breast cancers tend to be more aggressive and harder to treat than HER2-negative breast cancers. Neratinib is an irreversible pan-HER inhibitor. Neratinib fights HER2-positive breast cancer by blocking the cancer cells’ ability to receive growth signals. Neratinib is a targeted therapy, but unlike Herceptin (chemical name: trastuzumab), Kadcyla (chemical name: T-DM1 or ado-trastuzumab emtansine), and Perjeta (chemical name: pertuzumab), it is not an immune targeted therapy. Immune targeted therapies are versions of naturally occurring antibodies that work like antibodies made by our immune systems. Neratinib is a chemical compound, not an antibody.
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