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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How Does The Medicine, Tarceva, Impact Cancer When Chemotherapy Has Failed?

My husband has lung and bone cancer,has had chemo treatments,they are not working any more,the cancer is growing more and quite fast.Our doctor is putting him on Tarceva,will this pill help him?He sleeps alot now.What exactly can we expect from this pill?
Thu, 15 May 2014
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Oncologist 's  Response
Tarceva is also called erlotinib .
It is used for initial treatment for patients with NSCLC whose cancer has spread to other parts of the body and that has certain types of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations as first line treatment.
It can be also be used as maintenance treatment for advanced-stage NSCLC in patients whose cancer has not spread or grown after prior treatment with certain types of chemotherapy.
Tarceva can also be used 2nd- or 3rd-line treatment for advanced-stage NSCLC in patients whose cancer has spread or grown after receiving at least one round of chemotherapy.
Tarceva is not meant to be used at the same time as certain types of chemotherapy for advanced NSCLC.
For initial treatment of patients with NSCLC whose cancer has spread to other parts of the body, it is not known if Tarceva is safe and effective in other EGFR mutations.
Major side effects from this pill is rash and diarrhea.
Regards
DR De
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How Does The Medicine, Tarceva, Impact Cancer When Chemotherapy Has Failed?

Tarceva is also called erlotinib . It is used for initial treatment for patients with NSCLC whose cancer has spread to other parts of the body and that has certain types of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations as first line treatment. It can be also be used as maintenance treatment for advanced-stage NSCLC in patients whose cancer has not spread or grown after prior treatment with certain types of chemotherapy. Tarceva can also be used 2nd- or 3rd-line treatment for advanced-stage NSCLC in patients whose cancer has spread or grown after receiving at least one round of chemotherapy. Tarceva is not meant to be used at the same time as certain types of chemotherapy for advanced NSCLC. For initial treatment of patients with NSCLC whose cancer has spread to other parts of the body, it is not known if Tarceva is safe and effective in other EGFR mutations. Major side effects from this pill is rash and diarrhea. Regards DR De