Guidelines for Adjuvant Herceptin Cardiac Testing and Frequency of Administration


Suggested testing: 2-D Echocardiogram or MUGA

Frequency of cardiac testing:

  1. Healthy patients – no baseline prior to Adriamycin and Cytoxan (AC).
  2. Baseline for all patients – following AC and prior to initiation of Herceptin.
  3. For patients undergoing 9 months of Herceptin alone, repeat testing every 4 months.
  4. For patients undergoing 9 week treatment program of Herceptin, only the baseline testing is required. (Described in Kellokumpa-Lehtinin, J.H., et al. Trastuzamab in combination with docetaxel or vinorelbine as adjuvant treatment of breast cancer: the FinHer Trial. Proc SABCS 2005; 94 (Supp 1):S5 [abstract 2]).

Frequency of Herceptin administration:

  1. Routine administration will be every 3 weeks.
  2. For patient undergoing weekly Herceptin and a taxane, every 3 week Herceptin will be initiated at the completion of the weekly Herceptin/Taxane treatment. This will begin the week following the completion of the combined treatments.

 

Developed on January 25, 2006 by:
Powel Brown, M.D.
Jenny Chang, M.D.
Richard Elledge, M.D.
Mamta Kalidas, M.D.
Rush Lynch, M.D.
Kent Osborne, M.D.
Suzanne Perez, RN, BSN
Mari Rude, RN, ANP