Trastuzumab

A healthcare provider may prescribe trastuzumab to treat certain kinds of breast cancer. In particular, the drug is used to treat breast cancer that has a high concentration of HER2 receptors (a protein on the outside of certain cancer cells). The medication is administered intravenously every seven days at your healthcare provider's office, a hospital, or an infusion center. Prior to taking this drug, be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have congestive heart failure or if you have any allergies.

Trastuzumab Drug Information

What Is Trastuzumab?

Trastuzumab (Herceptin^®) is a prescription medication used to treat breast cancer.

(Click What Is Trastuzumab Used For? for more information on what the drug is used for, including possible off-label uses.)

Side Effects

As with any medicine, side effects are possible with trastuzumab. However, not everyone who takes the drug will experience side effects. In fact, most people tolerate it quite well. If side effects do occur, in most cases, they are minor and either require no treatment or can easily be treated by you or your healthcare provider. Serious side effects are less common.

Common side effects of trastuzumab include, but are not limited to:

Pain
Fatigue or weakness
Fever
Nausea
Diarrhea.

(Click Side Effects of Trastuzumab to learn more, including potentially serious side effects that you should report immediately to your healthcare provider.)

The following eMedTV articles describe specific side effects of trastuzumab:

(Trastuzumab Continued: Page 2)