Dataset Information

Clinicopathological Characteristics and Prognosis of HER2-Low Early-Stage Breast Cancer: A Single-Institution Experience.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2)-low breast cancer, which is defined as HER2 1+ or 2+ in immunohistochemistry without gene amplification, accounts for a considerable part of all breast cancers. However, it remains controversial whether HER2-low breast cancer is a distinct entity. Our aim was to compare the clinicopathological features and survival outcomes between HER2-zero and HER2-low early breast cancer.

Methods

The study was a retrospective analysis that enrolled 1,039 patients with available HER2 expression data in a single institute from 2013 to 2014, of whom 262 HER2-positive patients were excluded from the subsequent analysis. The remaining patients were divided into HER2-zero and HER2-low groups. Each group was further categorized into a hormone receptor (HR)-positive and an HR-negative subgroup. Clinicopathological characteristics were collected and compared between HER2-zero and HER2-low groups. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS), which were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method with log-rank test, landmark analysis, and Cox proportional hazards model.

Results

A total of 777 non-HER2-positive patients were included in this analysis, of whom 126, 552, 53, and 46 patients were HR-positive/HER2-zero, HR-positive/HER2-low, HR-negative/HER2-zero, and HR-negative/HER2-low, respectively. No significant difference in DFS and OS was detected between the HER2-zero group and the HER2-low group when paired by HR status. Landmark analysis with a time point set at 5 years indicated that HR-positive/HER2-low patients had a better DFS compared with HR-positive/HER2-zero patients after 5 years (p = 0.0047). HER2-low status was an independent prognostic factor for DFS after 5 years [hazard ratio (HR) 0.31, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.13-0.75, p = 0.01].

Conclusion

The clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of HER2-zero and HER2-low breast cancer were similar regardless of HR status. Patients with HR-positive/HER2-low tumors tended to have a better DFS than their HR-positive/HER2-zero counterparts after 5 years.

SUBMITTER: Xu H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9245921 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Clinicopathological Characteristics and Prognosis of HER2-Low Early-Stage Breast Cancer: A Single-Institution Experience.

Xu Hangcheng H Han Yiqun Y Wu Yun Y Wang Yan Y Li Qing Q Zhang Pin P Yuan Peng P Luo Yang Y Fan Ying Y Chen Shanshan S Cai Ruigang R Li Qiao Q Ma Fei F Xu Binghe B Wang Jiayu J

Frontiers in oncology 20220616

<h4>Background</h4>Human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2)-low breast cancer, which is defined as HER2 1+ or 2+ in immunohistochemistry without gene amplification, accounts for a considerable part of all breast cancers. However, it remains controversial whether HER2-low breast cancer is a distinct entity. Our aim was to compare the clinicopathological features and survival outcomes between HER2-zero and HER2-low early breast cancer.<h4>Methods</h4>The study was a retrospective analysis that enrol ...[more]

PMID: 35785207

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Project description:BackgroundThis study aims to analyze potential differences in clinicopathology, efficacy of neoadjuvant therapy (NAT), and clinical outcome among HER2-null, HER2-ultralow and HER2-low breast cancers.MethodsConsecutive cases of HER2-negative breast cancer that received NAT were included. They were classified as HER2-null (no staining), HER2-ultralow (incomplete faint staining in ≤ 10% of tumour cells) and HER2-low (HER2-1 + or HER2-2+, in situ hybridisation negative). Subgroup analysis was performed based on the HER2 expression level.ResultsOut of 302 patients, 215 (71.19%) were HER2-low, 59 (19.54%) were HER2-ultralow, and 28 (9.27%) were HER2-null. In comparison to the HER2-ultralow group, the HER2-low group exhibited higher expression frequencies of ER (p < 0.001), PR (p < 0.001), and AR (p = 0.004), along with a greater prevalence of the luminal subtype (p < 0.001). The HER2-ultralow group also demonstrated a higher prevalence of lymph node metastasis compared to the HER2-null group (p = 0.026). Varied rates of pathologic complete response (pCR) were observed among the three subgroups: HER2-null, HER2-ultralow, and HER2-low, with rates of 35.71%, 22.03%, and 12.56%, respectively. Only the HER2-low subgroup exhibited a significant difference compared to HER2-null (p = 0.001). Despite variations in pCR rates, the three subgroups exhibited comparable disease-free survival (DFS) (p = 0.571). Importantly, we found HER2-low patients with better treatment response (RCB-0/I) exhibited significantly better DFS than those with significant residual disease (RCB-II/III) (P = 0.036). The overall rate of HER2 immunohistochemical score discordance was 45.24%, mostly driven by the conversion between HER2-0 and HER2-low phenotype. Notably, 32.19% of cases initially classified as HER2-0 phenotype on baseline biopsy were later reclassified as HER2-low after neoadjuvant therapy, and it is noteworthy that 22 out of these cases (78.57%) originally had an HER2-ultralow status in the pretreatment biopsy sample.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate the distinct clinicopathological features of HER2-low and HER2-ultralow breast tumors and confirm that RCB is an effective predictor of prognosis in HER2-low populations for the first time. Notably, our findings demonstrate high instability in both HER2-low and HER2-ultralow expression from the primary baseline biopsy to residual disease after NAT. Furthermore, this study is the first to investigate the clinicopathological feature and the effectiveness of NAT for HER2-ultralow breast cancer.

Project description:PurposeTo investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic factors of early-stage breast cancer (EBC) with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-low expression.MethodsThe clinicopathological data and follow-up information of EBC patients with HER2-low and HER2-0 expression treated at the Breast Disease Center of Peking University First Hospital from January 2014 to December 2017 were analyzed. The prognosis between HER2-low and HER2-0 expression groups and with different hormone receptor (HR) expression were compared by statistics. Meanwhile, the expression of Ki67, androgen receptor (AR), TOPIIa, P53, PTEN, and CK5/6 were also analyzed with the HER2-low expression and prognosis.ResultsRetrospectively analyzed 1253 cases of EBC, including 583 (46.5%) cases of HER2-low breast cancer (BC) and 366 (29.2%) HER2-0 BC cases. Among the HER2-low BC patients, 487 (83.5%) were HR-positive, while 96 (16.5%) were HR-negative. Among the HER2-0 BC patients, 265 (72.4%) were HR-positive, while 101 (27.6%) were HR-negative. Median follow-up time was 53 months. The 5-year disease-free survival of HER2-low BC patients was 90.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 87.2-93.1), and the 5-year overall survival was 95.4% (95% CI: 93.3-97.6). Cox regression analysis showed that T stage, lymphovascular invasion, and/or perineural invasion were prognostic factors of HER2-low BC patients. However, the 5-year disease-free survival and overall survival of patients in the HER2-low and HER2-0 groups were not significantly different in all patients, but a tendency of better prognosis in HER2-low group was seen in HR-negative tumors.ConclusionHER2-low EBC patients accounted for 46.5% of the patient population. T stage, lymphovascular invasion, and/or perineural invasion were factors affecting the prognosis of BC patients with low HER2 expression. No significant difference in prognosis was noted between HER2-low and HER2-0 EBC patients. But in HR-negative tumors, a tendency of better prognosis was seen in HER2-low versus HER2-0.

Project description:Purpose/objectiveWe present our single-institution experience in the management of invasive breast cancer with targeted intraoperative radiotherapy (TARGIT-IORT), focusing on patient suitability for IORT determined by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI) consensus guidelines.Materials/methodsWe identified 237 patients treated for biopsy-proven early-stage invasive breast cancer using low energy x-ray TARGIT-IORT at the time of lumpectomy between September 2013 and April 2020 who were prospectively enrolled in an institutional review board (IRB) approved database. We retrospectively reviewed preoperative and postoperative clinicopathologic factors to determine each patient's ASTRO APBI suitability (suitable, cautionary or unsuitable) according to the 2017 consensus guidelines (CG). Change in suitability group was determined based on final pathology. Kaplan-Meier methods were used to estimate the survival probability and recurrence probability across time.Results237 patients were included in this analysis, based on preoperative clinicopathologic characteristics, 191 (80.6%) patients were suitable, 46 (19.4%) were cautionary and none were deemed unsuitable. Suitability classification changed in 95 (40%) patients based on final pathology from lumpectomy. Increasing preoperative lesion size or a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2 were significant predictors for suitability group change. Forty-one (17.3%) patients received additional adjuvant whole breast radiotherapy after TARGIT-IORT. At a median follow up of 38.2 months (range 0.4 - 74.5), five (2.1%) patients had ipsilateral breast tumor recurrences (IBTR), including two (0.8%) true local recurrences defined as a recurrence in the same quadrant as the initial lumpectomy bed with the same histology as the initial tumor. IBTR occurred in 1/103 (0.09%) patient in the post-op suitable group, 4/98 (4.08%) patients in the post-op cautionary group, and no patients in the post-op unsuitable group. At 3-years, the overall survival rate was 98.4% and the local recurrence free survival rate was 97.1%.ConclusionThere is a low rate of IBTR after TARGIT-IORT when used in appropriately selected patients. Change in suitability classification pre to postoperatively is common, highlighting a need for further investigation to optimize preoperative patient risk stratification in this setting. Patients who become cautionary or unsuitable based on final pathology should be considered for additional adjuvant therapy.

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Dataset Information

Clinicopathological Characteristics and Prognosis of HER2-Low Early-Stage Breast Cancer: A Single-Institution Experience.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Clinicopathological Characteristics and Prognosis of HER2-Low Early-Stage Breast Cancer: A Single-Institution Experience.

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