Description
Trastuzumab emtansine, an antibody–drug conjugate commonly abbreviated as T-DM1, improved overall survival for women and men with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer that had progressed after treatment with other HER2-targeted drugs.
Trastuzumab is a type of targeted therapy drug. It is a monoclonal antibody that binds to the protein HER2, which is found in large amounts on some cancer cells and causes them to grow. Trastuzumab blocks the activity of HER2 and triggers a type of immune reaction that kills cells that have a lot of HER2.
Trastuzumab emtansine, sold under the brand name Kadcyla, is an antibody-drug conjugate consisting of the humanized monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) covalently linked to the cytotoxic agent DM1