Treatment of resistance to tucatinib

Unlike other TKIs, tucatinib is a specific and reversible inhibitor of HER2 tyrosine kinase. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it in 2020 in combination with trastuzumab and capecitabine for the treatment of advanced, unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer.

Although anti-HER2 targeted therapy has greatly increased the survival rate of patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer, some patients still show clinical resistance to anti-HER2 therapy. There are many reasons for this drug resistance, such as up-regulation of HER2 expression, abnormal activation of HER2 downstream signaling pathways, loss of tumor suppressor genes, cell cycle disorders, and low infiltration of tumor immune cells. Despite the potential for increased toxicity, the strategy of combining these drugs with HER2-targeted therapy may improve the prognosis of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer and even avoid chemotherapy. Everyone's body is different and their resistance to drugs is different. If you feel unwell, please inform your doctor in time.

It is understood that the original drug Tucatinib has not yet been launched in China, so it has not entered the scope of domestic medical insurance. Patients in need cannot yet purchase this drug in pharmacies or hospitals. The price of the European version of tucatinib original drug sold overseas is around RMB 72,000 (the price may fluctuate due to exchange rates), which is expensive. There are also generic drugs of tucatinib produced in other countries. The price of Tucatinib produced by a Lao pharmaceutical factory is around 6,400 yuan (the price may fluctuate due to the exchange rate). The price is much cheaper than the original drug, and the ingredients of foreign generic drugs are basically the same as the original drug.