Targeted Therapies and Immunotherapy for Male Breast Cancer
Both targeted therapies and immunotherapy attack cancer cells without affecting healthy cells, so they can be used to treat male breast cancer. There are some differences between these two approaches.
Targeted therapies
Targeted cancer therapies are treatments that target specific characteristics of cancer cells, such as a protein that allows the cancer cells to grow in a rapid or abnormal way. Targeted therapies are generally less likely than chemotherapy to harm normal, healthy cells. Some targeted therapies are antibodies that work like the antibodies made naturally by our immune systems. These types of targeted therapies are sometimes called immune targeted therapies.
Learn more about the following targeted therapies that may be used to treat male breast cancer, including how each one works and any associated side effects:
- Afinitor (chemical name: everolimus)
- Enhertu (chemical name: fam-trastuzumab-deruxtecan-nxki)
- Herceptin (chemical name: trastuzumab)
- Ibrance (chemical name: palbociclib)
- Kadcyla (chemical name: T-DM1 or ado-trastuzumab emtansine)
- Kisqali (chemical name: ribociclib)
- Lynparza (chemical name: olaparib)
- Margenza (chemical name: margetuximab-cmkb)
- Nerlynx (chemical name: neratinib)
- Perjeta (chemical name: pertuzumab)
- Phesgo (chemical name: pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and hyaluronidase-zzxf)
- Piqray (chemical name: alpelisib)
- Talzenna (chemical name: talazoparib)
- Trodelvy (chemical name: sacituzumab govitecan-hziy)
- Tukysa (chemical name: tucatinib)
- Tykerb (chemical name: (lapatinib)
- Verzenio (chemical name: abemaciclib)
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy medicines use the power of your body’s immune system to attack cancer cells.
Immune checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy medicines that may be used to treat male breast cancer are:
Keytruda is used in combination with chemotherapy to treat unresectable locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative, PD-L1-positive breast cancer. Unresectable means that the cancer can’t be removed with surgery.
Keytruda also is used in combination with chemotherapy before surgery, and then on its own after surgery to treat early-stage triple-negative breast cancer with a high risk of recurrence (the cancer coming back).
Tecentriq is used in combination with the chemotherapy medicine Abraxane (chemical name: albumin-bound or nab-paclitaxel) to treat unresectable locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative, PD-L1-positive breast cancer.
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