josephine3
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Posts:12
I have been on Tarceva 100 mg daily since January 2011 and all CAT scans have remained clear. I have noticed on several cancer forums patients stating their oncologist have taken them off of Tarceva for a period of time tho cause what they term a "jump start" effect. My understanding of this is they feel it helps to continue the positive effect of Tarceva for a longer period of time . Have you heard of this practice and if so, is it proving to be effective? My oncologist says as long as Tarceva 100 mg daily is working for me we will continue to take it daily. Naturally, I am curious if this stop and restart is being practiced and it effectiveness?
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Reply # - August 18, 2013, 09:37 AM
Reply To: Is it beneficial to stop and restart Tarceva
Though it's a reasonable hypothesis, there is no evidence at all that stopping Tarceva (erlotinib) or another EGFR inhibitor and then restarting it is beneficial for prolonging duration of responsiveness to it. There is a real risk that stopping it will lead to a rapid rebound progression of the disease because the EGFR inhibitor can be extremely effective in inhibiting the cancer, and then stopping it is like taking the foot off of the brake when your car is on a hill.
I know of no lung cancer specialist who favors this approach of stopping and starting Tarceva in hopes of prolonging its efficacy, since every single trial ever done that has shown a benefit with Tarceva or Iressa (gefitinib), or the newest EGFR inhibitor, afatinib (Gilotrif), all continue the EGFR inhibitor without any break until progression of disease.
Good luck.
-Dr. West