Bröstcancer är en av de vanligaste cancerformerna bland kvinnor i Sverige idag med över 8000 patienter diagnostiserade varje år. Sedan 1960 har den 10-åriga överlevnaden ökat med mer än 30 % och fortfarande ses en stadig ökning. En anledning till denna stegring är den ökade förståelsen för sjukdomen och utvecklingen av nya mer avancerade analys- och behandlingsmetoder. En av de nyare analysmetoderna som används vid diagnostisering av bröstcancer är klassificering av intrinsic subtype, där uttrycket av biomarkörer på tumörcellernas yta undersöks. En sådan biomarkör är Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2), en tyrosinkinasreceptor som är överuttryckt i 20-30 % av alla fall av bröstcancer. Denna receptor är normalt en viktig del av cellens intracellulära signaleringsvägar som stimulerar tillväxt och celldelning. Vid överuttryck på tumörcellens yta är denna receptor dock associerad med en mer aggressiv cancerform och en ökad återfallsrisk. Identifieringen av HER2 som en riskfaktor för en aggressiv typ av cancer har tillåtit utvecklingen av trastuzumab, en monoklonal antikropp riktad specifikt mot denna receptor. Trastuzumab verkar genom att binda in till receptorn och hämma dess tillväxtstimulerande effekter och på så sätt hämma sjukdomsförloppet. Trastuzumab har i flera år använts för behandling av HER2-positiv bröstcancer men den optimala behandlingsregimen är till stor del fortfarande okänd. Syftet med detta litteraturarbete var därför att undersöka om trastuzumab bör vara förstahandspreparat vid behandling av HER2-positiv bröstcancer och i sådana fall med vilka behandlingsrekommendationer. Litteraturstudien baserades på analys av fem kliniska prövningar där effekt, säkerhet och behandlingslängd undersökts. Resultaten som presenteras i denna studie tyder på att trastuzumab är ett effektivt alternativ för behandling av HER2-positiv bröstcancer. Resultaten stöttar även de nuvarande behandlingsrekommendationerna på 12 månaders adjuvant behandling med trastuzumab. Säkerhetsanalysen visade att trastuzumab generellt är ett säkert läkemedel och att allvarliga biverkningar är ovanliga. Behandlingen är dock inte utan risk och noggrann monitorering av patienterna krävs för att minska risken för allvarliga biverkningar. / Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in Sweden, with over 8000 patients diagnosed every year. Since 1960 the survival rate for breast cancer has climbed over 30 % and is still rising. There could be several reasons for this development. One reason could be the more effective screening programs implemented into the Swedish health care system, which allows the cancer to be found and treated at an early stage of the disease. Early treatment is one of the key factors in treatment success. Another reason is the development of more efficient targeted cancer therapies that are now used to treat breast cancer. One of the new diagnostic tools that are used in the diagnosing of breast cancer is classification of intrinsic subtype. This analysis serves to discover specific proteins and receptors that are overexpressed in the tumour cells, and that could act as potential drug targets. One such receptor is the Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2). The HER2 is a tyrosin kinase receptor which upon activation plays a major role in cell growth and cell division. In approximately 20-30 % of all breast cancers the expression of this receptor on the cell surface and/or the gene coding for the receptor is drastically amplified. This amplification is one of the factors that allow the tumour cells to grow and divide almost unlimitedly. The extreme potency of this receptor makes the HER2-positive breast cancer one of the most aggressive breast cancer types there is. By identifying this receptor as a major cause of the cancer research has allowed the development of a very specific targeted therapy in the form of the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab. Trastuzumab binds to the HER2-receptor and inhibits its growth stimulating effects. For several years it has been used to treat patients with HER2-positive breast cancer. However, to some extent the optimal treatment regimen is still unknown. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the current treatment regimen of HER2-positive breast cancer with trastuzumab. The evaluation will be based on analysis of the treatments’ efficacy, safety and optimal treatment duration.   This is a literature study based on the analysis of five clinical trials that were collected using the medical an bioscientific database PubMed. The search was limited to only include studies that analysed the use of trastuzumab as adjuvant treatment for early HER2-positive breast cancer. Studies that analysed the effect in metastatic breast cancer were excluded to enable a more specific analysis. The studies that were selected analysed efficacy and/or treatment duration as primary end points and safety as a secondary end point or as a part of the primary endpoint. Based on the results presented in these studies trastuzumab is an effective and safe treatment of choice for early HER-2 positive breast cancer. The studies also showed evidence to support the current recommended treatment duration of 12 months. The safety analysis showed that trastuzumab is a generally well tolerated treatment; however as with any cancer treatment there are certain risks, cardiac toxicity being the most serious. In conclusion, this literature study supports the current treatment regimen with trastuzumab for HER2-positive breast cancer.

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Insomnia is getting more prevalent with age, both because of natural changes in the sleep pattern and because of increased morbidity. It can cause dysfunctioning and sedation during the day. Therefore it is often treated with hypnotics. It is possible though that hypnotics can cause daytime sleepiness as well, not to mention increased risk of falling and fractures because of sedation and prolonged reaction time. Benzodiazepines and benzodiazepine related drugs, the subjects of this study, are commonly used as hypnotics. They are meant for short term treatment, however long term insomnia is common in the elderly. This study examines to which extent these hypnotics cause residual sedation during the day and if they increase the risk of falling and occurrence of bone fractures. The prevalence of long term treatment has been of interest as well. 24 elderly residents in a senior housing in Kalmar were interviewed about their daytime alertness, if they felt more alert or more tired when using hypnotics, and how many times they had fallen in the last year. They were asked about how long they had been using hypnotics and what other drugs they used. If they were unsure, their prescriptions was checked for this information. Twelve out of the 24 individuals who were interviewed used some kind of benzodiazepine or benzodiazepine related drug. The majority used the sedative zopiclone but also zolpidem and oxazepam were used. A statistically significant difference in daytime sleepiness was found between users and non-users of hypnotics, but no statistically significant difference in the number of falling incidents could be found. Those who were treated with hypnotics used them every night, nine individuals had been treated longer than three months and two persons had been treated over several years. This study is too small to draw reliable inferences from, but it suggests that long term treatment of the elderly with hypnotics is common and maybe the effects of such a treatment should be investigated further. 2008:F9

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