Author Correction: Evolution of HER2-low expression from primary to recurrent breast cancer

AbstractAbout a half of HER2-negative breast cancer (BC) show HER2-low expression that can be targeted by new antibody-drug conjugates. The main aim of this study is to describe the evolution of HER2 expression from primary BC to relapse by including HER2-low category in both primary and recurrent BC samples. Patients with matched primary and relapse BC samples were included. HER2 was evaluated according to ASCO/CAP recommendations in place at the time of diagnosis. A cutoff of >10% cells staining for HER2-positivity was applied. HER2-negative cases were sub-classified as HER2-low (IHC = 1 + /2+ and ISH not amplified), or HER2-0 (IHC-0). 547 patients were included. The proportion of HER2-low cases was 34.2% on the primary tumor and 37.3% on the relapse samples. Among HER2-negative cases, HER2-low status was more frequent in HR-positive vs triple-negative tumors (47.3% vs 35.4% on primary tumor samples, 53.8% vs 36.2% on relapse samples). The overall rate of HER2 discordance was 38.0%, mostly represented by HER2-0 switching to HER2-low (15%) and HER2-low switching to HER2-0 (14%). Among patients with a primary HER2-negative tumor, the rate of HER2 discordance was higher in HR-positive/HER2-negative vs triple-negative cases (45.5% vs 36.7% p = 0.170). This difference was mostly driven by cases switching from HER2-0 to HER2-low. HER2-low expression is highly unstable during disease evolution. Relapse biopsy in case of a primary HER2-0 tumor may open new therapeutic opportunities in a relevant proportion of patients.

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ER, PR & HER2 Receptor status in recurrent breast cancer: Its relation to age & time of recurrence

Journal of Surgical Sciences ◽

10.3329/jss.v22i1.44009 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 16-20

Author(s):

Abu Khaled Muhammad Iqbal ◽

Nasima Akhter ◽

Hasan Shahrear Ahmed ◽

Md Rassell ◽

AMM Yahia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Treatment Approach ◽

Recurrent Breast Cancer ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Her2 Receptor ◽

Younger Patients ◽

Receptor Status ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Neoplastic Lesions ◽

Recurrent Breast

Background: Malignant neoplastic lesions of the breast are one of the main causes of cancer death among women. In tumor cells the expression status of Estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and c-ERBB2 (HER2/neu) are therapeutically and prognostically important markers affecting the treatment approach, management and prognosis of breast carcinoma. Objective: To explore the relation of receptor status in recurrent breast cancer to age and time of recurrence. Methods: This study was conducted in National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH) and included 81 female patients between 20 to 75 years with recurrent breast cancer. Detection of receptor status of ER +ve/-ve, PR +ve/-ve, Her-2+ve/-ve was based on the immunohistochemistry staining of tissue samples of malignant neoplastic lesions prepared from tissue biopsies of patients with recurrent breast cancer. All the information were recorded through the pre-structured data collection sheet and analyzed. Results: This study showed that most of the recurrent breast cancer patients were Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) (39.5%) and among them most of them were younger patients. Younger patients with TNBC had increased risk of recurrence. Most of the recurrence occurred within 1-2 years. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the assessment of the expression of these biornarkers in recurrent tumors provides reliable information for the treatment approach of locoregional tumors. Journal of Surgical Sciences (2018) Vol. 22 (1): 16-20

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