Tykerb approved for use with Femara

January 30, 2010 - 0 comments

Silver Springs -- GlaxoSmithKline's breast cancer drug Tykerb can now be used in combination with the Novartis cancer drug Femara, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says.

The FDA Friday broadened approval of Tykerb, generically known as lapatinib, in combination with Femara, or letrozole, to treat hormone positive and HER2-positive advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

HER2, a protein involved in normal cell growth, is found on some types of cancer cells, including breast cancer cells. In hormone positive breast cancer, the presence of certain hormones contributes to breast cancer growth, the FDA said in a release.

"This drug combination of Tykerb plus Femara provides women being treated for advanced breast cancer with an important (oral) treatment option," said Dr.

Richard Pazdur, director of the FDA's Office of Oncology Drug Products.
The most commonly reported side effects of the drug combination were diarrhea, rash, nausea and fatigue.