TY - JOUR T1 - From the journals, October–November 2005 JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 971 LP - 971 VL - 55 IS - 521 AU - Richard Lehman Y1 - 2005/12/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/55/521/971.abstract N2 - 1555 We now know that immunity to whooping cough, whether from infection or vaccination, is not life-long, and that pertussis can cause chronic cough at all ages. A new acellular vaccine looks promising as a booster for adults.1659 Trastuzumab (Herceptin®) really is a breakthrough in the treatment of the most aggressive form of breast cancer, the type expressing epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), which allows rapid growth and metastasis. It's nothing to do with ER, which is the oestrogen receptor. If you use the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab to bung up the HER2 receptors, you change the entire potential of the cancer. Three trials used it alongside chemotherapy in localised disease, with impressive results.1784 But is the fall in breast cancer mortality over recent years due to better treatment or to mammographic screening? It's an area of fierce debate (see the book review in Lancet page … ER -