Survival in metaplastic breast carcinoma: A case series

BACKGROUND: Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) is a rare type of breast cancer (0.20–1.00% of all cases). With a more aggressive clinical course, MBC frequently presents as a triple-negative subtype. OBJECTIVE: To describe a case series, analyzing patients survival in four MBC cases. METHODS: The cases were obtained from 532 medical records of breast cancer patients (0.7% of the total). RESULTS: All patients were female. Mean patient age was 49 years (range: 38–60 years). Mean tumor size was 8.9 cm (range: 3.0–15.5 cm). Mastectomy was performed in three cases. One patient had axillary nodal metastasis. All underwent chemotherapy and three received radiation therapy after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: With a mean follow-up of 36 months (range: 10–60 months), one case had a tumor recurrence (25%). Three patients (75%) died from metastatic disease and one (25%) is still alive and free of disease.

Clinicopathological characteristics and survival outcomes in patients with synchronous lung metastases upon initial metastatic breast cancer diagnosis in Han population

Background We investigated the clinicopathological characteristics and survival of breast cancer lung metastases (BCLM) patients at initial diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) in the Han population. Methods We attained clinical data of 3155 MBC patients initially diagnosed between April 2000 and September 2019 from the China National Cancer Center and finally included 2263 MBC patients in this study, among which 809 patients presented with lung metastases at first MBC diagnosis. The risk factors for BCLM were determined using multivariate logistic regression analysis and the prognostic factors of BCLM patients were assessed by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Results Patients with triple-negative subtype (42.3%) harbored the highest incidence proportions of lung metastases. Age ≥ 50 years, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) 2, M1, hormone receptor-negative (HR-)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2) + subtype, triple-negative subtype and disease-free survival (DFS) > 2 years were remarkably associated with higher incidence of lung metastases, while invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) and bone metastases were significantly correlated with lower odds of lung metastases at diagnosis. The median survival of BCLM patients was 41.7 months, with triple-negative subtype experiencing the worst prognosis of 26.8 months. ECOG 2, triple-negative subtype, liver metastases, multi-metastatic sites and DFS ≤ 2 years were significantly correlated with poor survival of BCLM patients. Conclusions Our study provides essential information on clinicopathological features and survival outcomes of BCLM patients at initial diagnosis of MBC in China.

High Expression of Complement Component C7 Indicates Poor Prognosis of Breast Cancer and Is Insensitive to Taxane-Anthracycline Chemotherapy

BackgroundBreast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide. However, the well-known biomarkers are not enough to meet the needs of precision medicine. Novel targets are desirable and highly valuable for improved patient survival. In this regard, we identified complement component C7 as one of the candidates based on data from the OCOMINE database.MethodsC7 expression was examined by immunohistochemistry in 331 cases of invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), 45 cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), and 52 cases of non-neoplastic tissues adjacent to tumor. Then, C7 expression was further confirmed by Western blot analysis based on IDC specimens and non-neoplastic breast specimens. The relationship between the C7 expression and prognosis of breast cancer patients was analyzed in order to investigate the function of C7 in breast cancer patients. Meanwhile, we also analyzed the relationship between the C7 expression and prognosis of 149 patients treated with conventional TE (taxane and anthracycline)-based chemotherapy. Then, a cohort of patients (22 cases) treated with TE neoadjuvant chemotherapy was used to further confirm the relationship between the C7 expression and TE-based chemosensitivity.ResultsIn our present study, we reported for the first time that C7 was an independent prognostic factor of breast cancer and C7 expression of IDC tissues was higher than non-neoplastic tissues adjacent to tumor and DCIS. In a cohort of 331 IDC patients, high expression of C7 indicated poor prognosis especially in the triple negative subtype and luminal B subtype. Furthermore, C7 was also a promoting factor for triple negative subtype patients to develop bone metastasis. Meanwhile, we provided the first evidence that patients with high C7 expression were insensitive to TE (taxane and anthracycline)-based chemotherapy by analyzing a cohort of 149 patients treated with TE-based chemotherapy and another cohort of 22 patients treated with TE neoadjuvant chemotherapy.ConclusionsIn summary, high expression of C7 may promote breast cancer development and might be insensitive to TE-based chemotherapy. Our present study laid a foundation to help clinicians improve the identification of patients for TE-based chemotherapy by C7 in the era of precision medicine.

Favorable prognostic factors of oligometastatic breast cancer: A subset analysis of OLIGO-BC1.

1026 Background: The Federation of Asian Clinical Oncology (FACO) conducted an international retrospective cohort study of oligometastatic breast cancer (BC) (OLIGO-BC1) (UMIN No.000030047). At ASCO2020, we demonstrated that locoregional and systemic therapy prolonged overall survival (OS) for patients with oligometastatic BC, especially for cases with some type of systemic therapy, younger age, ECOG performance status 0, stage I BC, non-triple negative subtype, fewer metastatic sites, local recurrence and longer disease-free interval from a multivariate analysis (#1025). Although BC is heterogeneous and a retrospective dataset has many kinds of bias, we attempted a subset analysis based on intrinsic subtype and several prognostic factors. Methods: Oligometastatic BC patients diagnosed from 2007 to 2012 were registered from CSCO, KSMO and JSCO. OS period was measured from the diagnosis of oligometastases to the latest follow-up. ER, PgR and HER2 status were determined by immunohistochemistry and/or in situ hybridization. A hazard ratio (HR) of OS was calculated by using a univariate analysis. Results: In 1200 eligible cases, one oligometastatic site was found in 578 cases, two in 289, three in 154, four in 102 and five in 77. Bone metastases were recorded in 301 cases, visceral metastases in 387, locoregional recurrence in 25, local recurrence in 83 and multiple metastatic sites in 404. Luminal subtype was recorded in 526 cases (44%), luminal-HER2 in 189 (16%), HER2 in 154 (13%), triple-negative in 166 (14%) and others in 165 (13%). In any subtype, locoregional and systemic therapy and ECOG performance status 0 were beneficial for OS. Stage I BC, one oligometastatic site and longer disease-free interval were also related to favorable prognosis in luminal and HER2 subtype. However, triple-negative subtype had no survival advantage with these 3 factors. On the other hand, pathological negative or micrometastatic lymph nodes at primary BC and one oligometastatic site of lymph node, lung, liver and bone were favorable prognostic factors. In addition, cases treated locally with surgical resection and conventional radiation therapy were expected to prolong OS. Discussions: Locoregional therapy for oligometastatic BC may be considered in luminal and HER2 subtype with some conditions. As reported in ASCO2020, triple-negative BC should be managed with systemic therapy. Conclusions: Oligometastatic BC is diagnosed by chance, but some cases seem to survive with multidisciplinary treatment. It is worthwhile to consider locoregional therapy in oligometastatic BC after evaluating favorable prognostic factors.

Incidence and Survival Outcomes in Patients with Synchronous Lung Metastases Upon Initial Metastatic Breast Cancer Diagnosis in China

Background: The incidence and survival of breast cancer lung metastases (BCLM) patients at initial diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) remain poorly identified in China.Methods: We attained clinical data of 3161 MBC patients initially diagnosed between December 1991 and September 2019 from the China National Cancer Center and finally included 2263 MBC patients in this study, among which 809 patients presented with lung metastases at first MBC diagnosis. The risk factors for BCLM were determined using multivariate logistic regression analysis and the prognostic factors of BCLM patients were assessed by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses.Results: Patients with triple-negative subtype (42.3%) harbored the highest incidence proportions of lung metastases. Age ≥ 50 years, ECOG 2 and triple-negative subtype were remarkably associated with higher incidence of lung metastases, while N3, liver and bone metastases were significantly correlated with lower odds of lung metastases at diagnosis. The median survival of BCLM patients was 41.7 months, with triple-negative subtype experiencing the worst prognosis of 26.8 months. ECOG 2, N3, HR-/HER2+ subtype, triple-negative subtype, liver metastases and bone metastases were significantly correlated with poor survival of BCLM patients.Conclusions: Our study provides essential information on clinicopathological features, incidence and survival outcomes of BCLM patients at initial diagnosis of MBC in China.

An overview of immune checkpoint inhibitors in breast cancer

Although breast cancer is not traditionally considered an immunogenic type of tumor, the combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy has recently emerged as a novel treatment option in triple-negative subtype in the advanced setting and other similar combinations of immune checkpoint inhibitors with chemotherapy are expected to become part of the neoadjuvant management in the near future. In addition, encouraging results have been observed with the combination of immune checkpoint blockade with diverse biological agents, including anti-HER2 agents, CDK 4/6 inhibitors, PARP-inhibitors. The present review summarized the available evidence coming from clinical trials on the role of immune checkpoint inhibitors in the management of breast cancer, both in advanced and early setting.