Lapatinib （CAS No.: 231277-92-2 ） is a quinazoline derivative that inhibits EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR RECEPTOR and HER2 (RECEPTOR, ERBB-2) tyrosine kinases. It is used for the treatment of advanced or metastatic breast cancer, where tumors overexpress HER2.
from MeSH
Lapatinib is a Kinase Inhibitor. The mechanism of action of lapatinib is as a Protein Kinase Inhibitor.
Lapatinib is a synthetic, orally-active quinazoline with potential antineoplastic properties. Lapatinib reversibly blocks phosphorylation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), ErbB2, and the Erk-1 and-2 and AKT kinases; it also inhibits cyclin D protein levels in human tumor cell lines and xenografts. EGFR and ErbB2 have been implicated in the growth of various tumor types.
Lapatinib is used as a treatment for women's breast cancer in treatment-naïve, ER+/EGFR+/HER2+ breast cancer patients and in patients who have HER2-positive advanced breast cancer that has progressed after previous treatment with other chemotherapeutic agents, such as anthracycline, taxane-derived drugs, or trastuzumab (Herceptin).
A 2006 GSK-supported randomized clinical trial on female breast cancer previously being treated with those agents (anthracycline, a taxane and trastuzumab) demonstrated that administrating lapatinib in combination with capecitabine delayed the time of further cancer growth compared to regimens that use capecitabine alone. The study also reported that risk of disease progression was reduced by 51%, and that the combination therapy was not associated with increases in toxic side effects.The outcome of this study resulted in a somewhat complex and rather specific initial indication for lapatinib—use only in combination with capecitabine for HER2-positive breast cancer in women whose cancer have progressed following previous chemotherapy with anthracycline, taxanes and trastuzumab.
Early clinical trials have been performed suggesting that high dose intermittent lapatinib might have better efficacy with manageable toxicities in the treatment of HER2-overexpressing breast cancers.
