This is The BREAST CANCER 101 Section. It is divided into six sections. Please click on menu below for area of interest.
Receptors
Estrogen and Progesterone
Your doctor will want to know whether or not your tumor is responsive to estrogen or progesterone. If it is, then it is known as Estrogen/Progesterone Receptor Positive.
This means that the tumor is fueled by the estrogen and progesterone in your body. If your tumor is not fueled by estrogen or progesterone, then it is called Estrogen/Progesterone Negative. This type of cancer is impervious to estrogen and does not rely on it for it to grow.
Women who are estrogen/progesterone positive make up 60% of breast cancer diagnoses. There are drugs to counteract estrogen to protect a woman after her treatment ends. They are Tamoxifen, (Nolvadex) and the newer class of drugs known as aromatase inhibitors, Arimidex, (Anastrozole) and Femera, (Letrozole.)
If you are diagnosed with an Estrogen/Progesterone negative cancer, these drugs are useless to you because your tumor does not rely on estrogen to grow so there is no need to shut down the naturally occurring hormones in your body.
HER2Nue Oncogene
Twenty-five to thirty percent of breast cancer tumors carry the Her2/nue oncogene. This protein over-expresses in a cancer cell making it more aggressive and promoting cancer growth. If you test positive for this gene it will appear on your path report as Her2+. There have been tremendous breakthroughs in the treatment of Her2+ cancers. Herceptin, (Trastuzumab) and Tykerb, (Lapatinib) are now being administered after chemotherapy and have been shown greatly reduce the Her2 protein which is prolonging the lives of women who have been diagnosed Her2 positive.
Estrogen and Progesterone
Your doctor will want to know whether or not your tumor is responsive to estrogen or progesterone. If it is, then it is known as Estrogen/Progesterone Receptor Positive.
This means that the tumor is fueled by the estrogen and progesterone in your body. If your tumor is not fueled by estrogen or progesterone, then it is called Estrogen/Progesterone Negative. This type of cancer is impervious to estrogen and does not rely on it for it to grow.
Women who are estrogen/progesterone positive make up 60% of breast cancer diagnoses. There are drugs to counteract estrogen to protect a woman after her treatment ends. They are Tamoxifen, (Nolvadex) and the newer class of drugs known as aromatase inhibitors, Arimidex, (Anastrozole) and Femera, (Letrozole.)
If you are diagnosed with an Estrogen/Progesterone negative cancer, these drugs are useless to you because your tumor does not rely on estrogen to grow so there is no need to shut down the naturally occurring hormones in your body.
HER2Nue Oncogene
Twenty-five to thirty percent of breast cancer tumors carry the Her2/nue oncogene. This protein over-expresses in a cancer cell making it more aggressive and promoting cancer growth. If you test positive for this gene it will appear on your path report as Her2+. There have been tremendous breakthroughs in the treatment of Her2+ cancers. Herceptin, (Trastuzumab) and Tykerb, (Lapatinib) are now being administered after chemotherapy and have been shown greatly reduce the Her2 protein which is prolonging the lives of women who have been diagnosed Her2 positive.
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