Is taking Trastuzumab painful?

Trastuzumab (Trastuzumab) is a targeted (biological) therapy. Targeted therapies stop cancer from growing and spreading by targeting and interfering with processes in cells that help cancer grow. Only patients with HER2-positive breast cancer will benefit from trastuzumab treatment; if their cancer is HER2-negative, trastuzumab will have no benefit.

Trastuzumab may not be suitable for people with heart problems or poorly controlled blood pressure (high blood pressure). If a patient has HER2-positive breast cancer and has heart problems, additional tests are usually ordered to check how well the heart is working. Trastuzumab is given as an intravenous infusion (intravenous drip), which requires inserting a needle into your vein, which can be painful. Some patients experienced infusion reactions with pain as one of the symptoms, but other symptoms such as fever, chills, sometimes nausea, vomiting, pain, headache, dizziness, difficulty breathing, hypotension, rash, and weakness were also present. If a patient experiences any of these symptoms, it is important to notify the doctor immediately.

Trastuzumab is sold under the brand name Herceptin in China and has entered the scope of Class B medical insurance, but it may be limited to patients who meet the indications for this drug, such as patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer and its adjuvant and neoadjuvant treatment or HER2-positive metastatic gastric cancer. The price is around 6,000 yuan. The original trastuzumab drug has also been launched overseas. The drug ingredients of domestic and foreign original drugs are basically the same. For specific prices and drug details, you can consult the medical consultant. There is currently no generic drug of trastuzumab on the market.