What is the cancer drug pertuzumab, and what do doctors use it for?

Breast Cancer: Pertuzumab is a monoclonal antibody approved for advanced breast. It i first of its class in a line of agents called "her dimerization inhibitors". By binding to her2, it inhibits the dimerization of her2 with other her receptors. Pertuzumab received us fda approval for the treatment of her2-positive metastatic breast cancer in june 2012.

Targeted cancer drug: Pertuzumab is a drug that targets cancer cells which carry a certain protein on their surface called her2. It has been approved for treatment of metastatic breast cancer that is her2 overexpressing. You can think of her2 like a light switch that makes cancer cells grow. Pertuzumab blocks the switch from being turned on from the outside. Herceptin (trastuzumab) is a similar drug.