Lapatinib plus letrozole for postmenopausal patients with advanced HER2⁺/HR⁺ breast cancer

Abstract

Lapatinib is an oral, small-molecule dual inhibitor of human EGF receptor 1 (EGFR/erbB1) and 2 (HER2/erbB2). Lapatinib has recently been approved, in combination with capecitabine, for the treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients failing trastuzumab therapy. Data from clinical trials are consistently showing the key role of this agent in the management of HER2-positive disease. Moreover, interesting data are suggesting a key role of lapatinib in enhancing endocrine responsiveness and/or restoring endocrine sensitivity in hormone receptor-positive disease. The present article will summarize the main data leading to the clinical development of the combination of lapatinib and the aromatase inhibitor letrozole.

Keywords::

• advanced breast cancer
• HER2 positive
• hormone receptor positive
• lapatinib
• letrozole
• trastuzumab

Acknowledgements

Valentina Guarneri would like to acknowledge her mentor, Pier Franco Conte, for the thoughtful discussion and manuscript revision.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Valentina Guarneri has acted as Consultant and Speaker for GlaxoSmithKline and has acted as Speaker for Novartis. The author has no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.