What Is Lapatinib Used For? -- An Overview
Lapatinib (
Tykerb®) is a prescription medication used to treat
breast cancer. Specifically, it is approved to be used in combination with
capecitabine (
Xeloda®) to treat HER2-positive cancer that has spread to other parts of the body in people who have tried other chemotherapy medications without success. Lapatinib belongs to a group of medications known as
tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
Understanding Breast Cancer
Women in the United States get breast cancer more than any other type of cancer, except for
skin cancer. Each year, more than 211,000 American women learn that they have breast cancer. Most
breast cancer causes are not known. In 5 to 10 percent of these cases, there is a hereditary component. Common
breast cancer symptoms include:
- A lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm area
- A change in how the breast or nipple feels
- Nipple tenderness
- A change in how the breast or nipple looks
- A change in the size or shape of the breast
- A nipple turned inward into the breast
- Nipple discharge (fluid).
Lapatinib is generally considered to be a biological therapy. The best treatments can vary, depending on the stage of breast cancer
(see Breast Cancer Treatment by Stage). Lapatinib is approved to treat breast cancers that have spread to other parts of the body (metastatic breast cancers) that overexpress HER2 (they have a high concentration of HER2 receptors). It should always be used in combination with capecitabine, another oral chemotherapy medication. This treatment should not be tried unless other chemotherapy medications have failed. Specifically, an anthracycline (a taxane) and
trastuzumab (
Herceptin®) should have already been tried. Anthracyclines include:
Taxanes include:
