Marked Response to Single Agent Trastuzumab in a Patient with Metastatic HER-2 Gene Amplified Rectal Cancer

Abstract

Overexpression or HER-2 gene amplification occurs in approximately 25% of invasive breast cancers and predicts response to the targeting therapeutic antibody trastuzumab (). In this report, trastuzumab was used in the treatment of a patient with metastatic colorectal cancer harboring HER-2 gene amplification and overexpression. There was a marked radiographic response to the trastuzumab. If a larger series confirms the efficacy of trastuzumab use in patients with colorectal cancers with HER-2 gene amplification, trastuzumab could help improve the outlook for patients with this unusual colorectal cancer variant.

Keywords: :

• Colorectal & Anal cancer
• Gene expression
• Treatment