• From: uk
  • Registered: Sun, 08 Jan 2006
  • Posts: 200

Topic: herceptin for cc?

hi everyone, has anybody got any info/heard of herceptin being used for cc? - i have 'heard' that some pts are being offered it..

i think that it is about time all the data on chemo drugs were evaluated against each other and an up to date report produced to help us make these decisions, ie - out of all the trials currently taking place around the world which drugs are looking most promising? cost effectiveness issues aside...

jules

  • Registered: Thu, 12 Jan 2006
  • Posts: 45

Re: herceptin for cc?

Jules -
There is a patient from Macon, GA that is being treated at UAB/Birmingham and Dr. Posey is giving her Herceptin.  He has never mentioned treating Sam with this chemo but apparently it is working for her; she was diagnosed in 2003.  I'm not sure if it has to do with whether the cc is intrahepatic or extrahepatic.  Sam has intrahepatic and I thought she did too but not 100% sure.  I do know that they did give her Oxaliplatin for a while but she had to come off of it due to neuropathy.
Betty

  • Registered: Fri, 06 Jan 2006
  • Posts: 258

Re: herceptin for cc?

Jules,

After Mark had his biopsy analyzed they found elevated levels of HER2.  Herceptin affects HER2, one of the oncologists we saw early on suggested they perform FISH analysis, this is supposed to be the best predicter for response to Herceptin and is relatively easy to do. 

Our oncologist told us that Herceptin has not shown response in any kinds of cancer other than breast cancer, even when elevated levels of HER2 are found. 

I was not aware of the the person that Betty is referring to, Betty can you find out more information about her - some specifics would be really helpful.

  • From: uk
  • Registered: Sun, 08 Jan 2006
  • Posts: 200

Re: herceptin for cc?

thankyou betty for the info - i am v interested to hear some more details about this patient on herceptin..

jules

  • Registered: Thu, 12 Jan 2006
  • Posts: 45

Re: herceptin for cc?

I read about this patient in the Crossroads magazine which is published by the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center.  You can find this magazine by doing a search in Google.  Pull up the Spring/Summer 2005 issue and it is the article entitled "Living with Cancer", page 29.  I thought as much as we go to Kirklin Clinic at UAB I would have run into her in the infusion clinic but not so far.  The article stated that she experienced severe stomach pains in January 2002 - my goodness that was four years ago and to my knowledge, she is still doing O.K.  That in itself is encouraging.
I don't know anything else about her nor her latest treatment.  I do think she has had some mets to the lungs but just happen to pick up on that in a conversation at UAB.

  • Registered: Fri, 06 Jan 2006
  • Posts: 258

Re: herceptin for cc?

Betty,

If you find a way, you might try to contact her.  Perhaps the nurses could give your information to her (you could write her a note or something) and then she could contact you. 

Anyway, this would be a valuable piece of information for us to have.

  • Registered: Thu, 12 Jan 2006
  • Posts: 45

Re: herceptin for cc?

I'll do my best to locate her.  I wrote her a letter several months ago thinking I had the correct address but it was returned.  I'll try again the next time we go to UAB
which I hope is soon.  I'm sure she would be interested in the cholangiocarcinoma web site also.