Randomised trial: survival benefit and safety of adjuvant dose-dense chemotherapy for node-positive breast cancer

We evaluated the survival benefit, safety, feasibility, and tolerability of dose-dense (DD) adjuvant chemotherapy with epirubicin and paclitaxel for women with node-positive primary breast cancer. Randomised patients (n=216) received DD or conventional-schedule (CS) chemotherapy. Dose-dense regimen patients (n=108) received epirubicin 90 mg m-2 plus paclitaxel 175 mg m-2 in four 14-day cycles, then cyclophosphamide 600 mg m-2, methotrexate 40 mg m-2, and fluorouracil 600 mg m-2 (CMF 600/40/600) in three 14-day cycles, plus filgrastim 5 microg kg day-1 as growth support in every cycle. Conventional-schedule regimen patients (n=108) received epirubicin 90 mg m-2 plus cyclophosphamide 600 mg m-2 in four 21-day cycles, then CMF 600/40/600 in three 21-day cycles, plus filgrastim if required. After a median follow-up of 38.4 months, 71 patients (33%) relapsed or died: DD, 33 patients (15 deaths); CS, 38 patients (22 deaths). Dose dense showed a trend for improved disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Four-year rates of DFS and OS were 64 and 85% for DD, and 58 and 75% for CS. All seven cycles were administered to 208 patients (96%). Rates of cycle delay, discontinuation, dose reduction, and adverse events were similar in both groups. Dose-dense sequential chemotherapy with epirubicin/paclitaxel then CMF, supported by filgrastim, is safe and improves survival for patients with node-positive breast cancer.     

Nuclear karyopherin alpha2 expression predicts poor survival in patients with advanced breast cancer irrespective of treatment intensity

Intensive lymph node involvement indicates poor prognosis in breast cancer patients. The significance of other molecular prognostic factors in this subgroup is unclear. Karyopherin alpha2 (KPNA2) has been reported as an important factor of tumorgenesis and progression of breast cancer. The aim of present study was to evaluate the impact of KPNA2 expression on prognosis of patients with high risk breast cancer (HRBC) and response intensive chemotherapy within the randomized WSG-AM-01 trial. KPNA2 nuclear expression (>10% vs. <10% of nuclei) was measured by immunohistochemistry on tissue arrays of 191 patients randomized to tandem high dose vs. conventional dose-dense chemotherapy in HRBC with >9 positive lymph nodes and correlated with clinical outcome (median follow-up of 63.3 months) by Kaplan-Meier and multivariate Cox hazard model analysis, including, molecular subtypes determined by k-clustering (k = 5). KPNA2 overexpression (n = 74, 39%) significantly correlated with shorter event-free and overall survival (OS) in both therapy arms by univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis showed that the overexpression of KPNA2 was an independent prognostic factor of decreased OS HR = 1.86 [95% CI: 1.07-3.23, p = 0.03]. This predictive value was independent of basal-like/Her-2/neu subtypes, significantly associated with KPNA2 and was addressed particularly to G2 tumors. Our data suggest the use of KPNA2 nuclear expression as novel prognostic marker in node-positive patients, especially in determination of G2 tumors in 2 subgroups of different prognosis. KPNA2 expression may be also considered as a marker for global chemoresistance, which can not be overcome by conventional dose-modification of chemotherapy in advanced breast cancer.     

曲妥珠单抗联合多西紫杉醇治疗Her-2/neu高表达转移性乳腺癌的疗效和不良反应

背景与目的:大约有20%～30%的乳腺癌患者Her-2/neu高表达,Her-2/neu高表达与患者的不良预后密切相关.化疗药物联合曲妥珠单抗可以显著提高Her-2/neu高表达乳腺癌患者的化疗有效率和生存率,多西紫杉醇是近年来治疗乳腺癌有效的化疗药物之一.本研究旨在观察曲妥珠单抗联合多西紫杉醇治疗Her-2/neu高表达转移性乳腺癌的疗效与不良反应.方法:22例Her-2/neu高表达转移性乳腺癌患者接受曲妥珠单抗联合多西紫杉醇方案治疗,曲妥珠单抗的首次剂量为8 mg/kg,以后的剂量为6 mg/kg.多西紫杉醇75mg/m2,每21 d重复一次.按WHO疗效评价标准评价疗效,按WHO化疗药物急性和亚急性不良反应评价标准评价不良反应.结果:全组22例患者共完成96个周期化疗(中位数3周期,范围2～6周期),所有患者均可评价疗效.22例患者中完全缓解2例,部分缓解12例,病情稳定4例,病情进展4例,客观有效率(CR PR)63.64%,中位疾病进展时间5.4个月,1年生存率59%.全组患者均可评价不良反应,主要不良反应为骨髓抑制,其中Ⅲ～Ⅳ度白细胞减少发生率为54.5%,部分患者有发热(第一次输注曲妥珠单抗时出现)和轻度的心肌劳损.结论:曲妥珠单抗联合多西紫杉醇方案治疗Her-2/neu高表达转移性乳腺癌近期疗效较高,不良反应轻,患者可以耐受.     

Co-Expression of ErbB-Family Members in Human Breast Cancer: Her-2/neu is the Preferred Dimerization Candidate in Nodal-positive Tumors

Over-expression of members of the ErbB-receptor family has been associated with malignant transformation. The amplification of Her-2/neu in tumor tissue is now an established prognostic factor in breast cancer. In order to initiate signal transduction, ErbB-receptor monomers need to form homo- or heterodimers. The composition of these dimers is thought to influence both quality and quantity of downstream signaling pathways, and to determine the biological response. We have investigated the protein expression pattern of the four ErbB-receptors EGFR, Her-2/neu, Her-3 and Her-4, and correlated it with their putative ligands EGF, TGF- and HRG in 74 women with invasive breast cancer. Using western blot-analysis on cell membrane isolates, we detected the co-expression of all four ErbB-family members in 79.7% of cases, and of all of the three investigated ligands in 82.4%. We did not observe a correlation between EGFR and Her-2/neu or Her-4 protein expression, EGFR and Her-3 (p = 0.005), and Her-3 and Her-4 (p = 0.05) were clearly co-expressed. The strongest overall correlation, was found between Her-2/neu and Her-3 (p < 0.001) and between Her-2/neu and Her-4 (p = 0.001). This was particularly true in nodal-positive tumors (p <0.001 and p = 0.002) whereas in nodal-negative tumors the co-expression was either less significant (Her-2/neu and Her-3; p = 0.01) or not significant (Her-2/neu and Her-4). The co-expression of EGFR/Her-3 was associated with the expression of all ligands, whereas the Her-2/neu/Her-3 was correlated with HRG (p = 0.002), thereby indicating a functional relation between specific receptor-dimer combinations and putative ligands. Taken together, we have performed the first comprehensive survey of ErbB-system expression in breast cancer, and have demonstrated the presence of a co-regulated receptor/ligand system in vivo. We have further shown that Her-2/neu is the preferred co-expression partner in nodal-positive tumors and thus the most likely dimerization candidate in malignant breast tumors.     

HER-2/neu Status: A Neglected Marker of Prognostication and Management of Breast Cancer Patients in India

Background: Categorizing breast tumors based on the ER, PR and HER/Neu 2 receptor status is necessary in order to predict outcome and assist in management of breast cancer. Herfe we assessed this question in South Indian patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 619 formalin fixed paraffin embedded breast tumor tissues were collected from pathology archives after receipt of ethical clearance. With the help of primary and secondary conjugated antibodies, expression status of ER, PR and HER2/neu was determined. All the experimental data were assessed for correlations with histopathological features of tumors and clinical presentation of the subjects. Results: In the present study, the ages ranged from 20-87 years with a mean of 50.0±12.q years, and majority of the tumors (84%) were of infiltrating duct cell carcinoma type. Assessment of ER, PR and Her-2/neu expression showed that 46% were triple negative. Interestingly, an inverse relation between ER, PR and HER-2/neu was apparent in 41.2% (p<0.0001) of the tumors, of which 24.5% (p<0.0001) were ER and PR co-negative but HER-2 positive. Conclusions: ER and PR positive tumors are less common (i.e<30%) compared to HER-2/neu positive tumors (i.e>50%) in Indian breast cancer patients, underlining the need for effective diagnostic screening and specific therapeutic managements in order to improve the survival rate of patients in low resource countries such as India.     

Her-2/neu overexpression and amplification in uterine papillary serous carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Uterine papillary serous carcinoma (UPSC) is an aggressive subtype of endometrial cancer characterized by early metastasis, resistance to therapy, and a high mortality rate. Little is known about the biology of these tumors. Smaller studies suggest that Her-2/neu may be involved in the tumorigenesis of this disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the protein expression and gene amplification of Her-2/neu in UPSC and to determine its prognostic value. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Tumor tissue from 68 patients with UPSC treated at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center from 1989 to 2002 was available. Her-2/neu expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Overexpression was defined as complete membrane staining in greater than 10% of the cells. In tumors with overexpression of Her-2/neu by IHC, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed to assess gene amplification. Clinical and pathologic information was obtained from medical records. RESULTS: Twelve (18%) of 68 tumors demonstrated Her-2/neu overexpression. Of these, only two showed gene amplification. When evaluating all 68 patients, Her-2/neu overexpression was associated with a poorer overall survival (OS; P = .008). In our multivariate Cox proportional hazards models, Her-2/neu IHC overexpression, lymph node status, and stage were each associated with OS (P < or = .05). CONCLUSION: Positive IHC overexpression of Her-2/neu was seen in 18% of UPSCs but was rarely correlated with Her-2/neu gene amplification. Overexpression of Her-2/neu was associated with a worse overall prognosis. The use of trastuzumab (Herceptin; Genentech, South San Francisco, CA) in women with UPSC should be further evaluated in a clinical trial setting.     

Immunohistochemical Profile of Breast Cancer Patients at a Tertiary Care Hospital in South India

Aims: 1) To evaluate the estrogen receptor(ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and Her-2 /neu expression ininvasive breast carcinomas by immunohistochemistry and 2) to compare the pattern of expression with clinicopathologicalparameters like patient’s age, tumor size, mitotic index, histological type and grade and lymph nodemetastasis. Methods: This is a retrospective study of 321 female invasive breast carcinomas diagnosed in theDepartment of Histopathology, Apollo Speciality Hospital, Chennai from January 2009 to June 2010. Results:The age of the patients ranged from 24 to 99 years, with a mean of 53.8, and the majority of the tumors wereT2 (83.8% in range of 2-5 cms), predominantly histological grade 2 (57.3%), followed by grade 3 (33.3%). ER,PR and Her-2/neu expression was seen in 59, 51 and 27% of cases respectively. Triple-negative breast cancersconstituted 25 % of our cases. We also found characteristic associations between hormonal receptor and Her-2/neu expression and various clinico-pathological parameters. Conclusions: The hormonal receptor expressionappears to be lower in the Indian population compared to the West. A significant proportion of tumors in ourstudy with Her2/neu overexpression also showed ER and PR positivity. Triple-negative breast tumors were mostcommonly grade 3, in women aged more than 50 years.     

Her-2/neu-triggered intracellular tyrosine kinase activation: in vivo relevance of ligand-independent activation mechanisms and impact upon the efficacy of trastuzumab-based treatment

Proteolytic cleavage of the Her-2/neu extracellular domain (ECD) has been shown to initiate receptor phosphorylation representing Her-2/neu activation in vitro. The present investigation was performed to evaluate the clinical relevance of ECD cleavage for Her-2/neu activation and the consequences of active intracellular Her-2/neu signalling reflected by tyrosine kinase phosphorylation in patients treated with the anti-Her-2/neu antibody trastuzumab. Sera from 62 patients receiving trastuzumab-based treatment for Her-2/neu overexpressing metastatic breast cancer were assessed for pretreatment ECD levels using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In parallel, Her-2/neu activation status of tumour specimens was assessed by immunohistochemistry using a Her-2/neu phosphorylation state specific antibody (PN2A) and correlated with the patients' ECD levels and clinical course of disease. Serum ECD levels were significantly higher in 15 (24%) patients with tumours exhibiting activated Her-2/neu as compared to those without detectable Her-2/neu phosphorylation (median 148.2 vs 28.5 ng ml(-1), P=0.010). Whereas response rate only showed a trend to be higher in patients with Her-2/neu-phosphorylated breast cancer (47 vs 34%, P=0.197), both uni- and multivariate analyses revealed that the median progression-free survival under trastuzumab-based treatment was significantly longer in patients with Her-2/neu-phosphorylated breast cancer-11.7 (95% CI 5.2-18.3) months-when compared to the progression-free survival of 4.5 (95% CI 3.4-5.6) months observed in patients with tumours lacking phosphorylated Her-2/neu (P=0.001). Proteolytic cleavage of the ECD represents a biologically relevant ligand-independent mechanism of Her-2/neu activation in vivo. The influence of Her-2/neu activation status upon the outcome of trastuzumab-based therapies merits further investigation in larger prospective trials.     

Her-2/neu overexpression in muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder: prognostic significance and comparative analysis in primary and metastatic tumors.

PURPOSE: The prognostic significance of Her-2/neu overexpression in muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder is largely unknown. Accurate determination of Her-2/neu overexpression may have therapeutic importance. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Eighty consecutive cases of muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder treated by radical cystectomy with available follow-up were analyzed. In each case, one representative section was stained with anti-Her-2/neu. Staining was graded as 1 = faint/equivocal, 2 = moderate, and 3 = strong and was considered positive if > or =2. In those cases with a metastasis, the stain was also performed in the metastatic tumor. Results were correlated with survival. RESULTS: Twenty-two (28%) cases were considered Her-2/neu-positive in the primary tumor, and 17 of 32 (53%) were considered Her-2/neu-positive in the lymph node metastasis. Median survival for Her-2/neu-positive primary tumors was 33 months, compared with 50 months for Her-2/neu-negative cases (P = 0.46). Similarly, Her-2/neu overexpression in the lymph node metastasis did not predict survival. Sixty metastatic urothelial carcinomas were further studied by comparing Her-2/neu expression in the primary tumor with that of the lymph node and/or distant metastasis. Forty-five percent of Her-2/neu-negative primary tumors had a Her-2/neu-positive lymph node metastasis, whereas only one case (8%) of Her-2/neu-positive primary tumors was Her-2/neu-negative in the lymph node metastasis (P = 0.009). Similarly, 67% of Her-2/neu-negative primary tumors had a Her-2/neu-positive distant metastasis, whereas no Her-2/neu-positive primary tumor was negative in the metastasis (P = 0.429). CONCLUSIONS: Her-2/neu overexpression in primary or metastatic tumor did not predict survival in this cohort of muscle-invasive tumors. Overexpression in the primary tumors consistently predicts overexpression in a distant or regional metastasis. However, some Her-2/neu-negative primary tumors may show overexpression in their corresponding metastasis. Her-2/neu analysis in a metastasis may be necessary to accurately determine Her-2/neu status in metastatic bladder urothelial carcinoma.     

Variability in hormone and growth factor receptor expression in primary versus recurrent, metastatic, and post-neoadjuvant breast carcinoma

The introduction of selective molecular targeted therapy, specifically tamoxifen and trastuzumab, has significantly altered the clinical behavior of breast carcinoma. Several questions remain, however, regarding potential phenotypic drifts in estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and epidermal growth factor receptor (Her-2/neu) expression between the primary and metastatic site. Whether patients should be tested for ER, PR, and Her-2/neu expression in the nodal or distant metastatic site, local recurrence and following neoadjuvant therapy, and whether this has an effect on prognosis remains elusive. A review of 45 studies addressing ER, PR, and Her-2/neu expression in lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, local recurrence, and post-neoadjuvant therapy revealed the following average phenotypic drift in ER, PR, and Her-2/neu expression, respectively: 13.1 % (median = 10.0 %), 13.8 % (median = 16.0 %), and 7.7 % (median = 5.0 %) for lymph node metastasis; 21.8 % (median = 19.5 %), 30.8 % (median = 33.5 %), and 7.6 % (median = 6.1 %) for distant metastasis; 19.8 % (median = 13.4 %), 27.1 % (median = 28.6 %), and 6.6 % (median = 1.6 %) for local recurrence; and 12.9 % (median = 8.0 %), 32.0 % (median = 20.0 %), and 8.9 % (median = 0 %) post-neoadjuvant therapy. The above findings support the notion of re-evaluating ER, PR, and Her-2/neu expression in distant metastasis, lymph node metastasis and to a lesser extent local recurrence. The effects of neoadjuvant therapy on receptor expression are more pronounced for PR, which may have a prognostic role in therapy efficacy.     

Ki67 Index in Breast Cancer: Correlation with Other Prognostic Markers and Potential in Pakistani Patients

Introduction: Breast cancer aggressiveness can be correlated with proliferation status of tumor cells, whichcan be ascertained with tumor grade and Ki67 indexing. However due to lack of reproducibility, the ASCO donot recommend routine use of Ki67 in determining prognosis in newly diagnosed breast cancers. We thereforeaimed to determine associations of the Ki67 index with other prognostic markers like tumor size, grade, lymphnode metastasis, ER, PR and HER2neu status. Methods: A total of 194 cases of newly diagnosed breast cancerwere included in the study. Immunohistochemical staining for ER, PR, HER2neu and Ki67 was performed bythe DAKO envision method. Associations of the Ki67 index with other prognostic factors were evaluated bothas continuous and categorical variables. Results: Mean age of the patients was 51.7 years (24-90). Mean Ki67index was 26.9% (1-90). ER, PR, HER2neu positivity was noted in 90/194 cases (46.4%), 74/194 cases (38.1%)and 110/194 cases (56.70%) respectively. Significant association was found between Ki67 and tumor grade,PR, HER2neu positivity and lymph node status, but no link was apparent with ER positivity and tumor size.There wasan inverse relation between Ki67 index and PR positivity, whereas a direct correlation was seen withHER2neu positivity. However, high Ki67 (>30%) was associated with decreased HER2neu positivity as comparedto intermediate Ki67 (16-30%). The same trend was established with lymph node metastasis. Conclusion: Ourstudy indicates that with high grade tumors, clinical utility of ki67 is greater in combination with other prognosticmarkers because we found that tumors with Ki67 higher than 30% have better prognostic profile comparedto tumors with intermediate Ki67 level, as reflected by slightly lower frequency of lymph node metastasis andHER2neu expression. Therefore we suggest that Ki67 index should be categorized into high, intermediate andlow groups when considering adjuvant chemotherapy and prognostic stratification.     

Comparison of ER,PR & HER-2/neu (C-erb B 2) Reactivity Pattern with Histologic Grade,Tumor Size and Lymph Node Status in Breast Cancer

Introduction: Carcinoma of the breast is the most common malignancy of women in Karachi. The currentstudy was conducted with the objective of assessing estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) andHER-2/neu reactivity patterns of mammary cancers for correlation with histologic grade, tumor size and lymphnode metastasis. Materials and methods: One hundred and fifty modified mastectomy specimens received atthe section of histopathology, Aga Khan University Hospital, were selected using a non-probability samplingmethod. Results: Mean age of the patients was 48.3 years (95%CI 46.5, 50.2). The left breast was more commonlyinvolved (57%). Tumor size ranged from 0.3 to 15.0 cm; 12% were ≤2.0 and 35.3% were ≥ 5.0 cm in diameter.The predominant morphology was infiltrating ductal carcinoma (85.3%). The majority of the cases presentedas grade II (55.3%) lesions with tumor necrosis (70%) and lymph node involvement (71.3%). ER and PR werepositive in 32.7% and 25.3% cases respectively. HER-2/neu was positive (3+) in 24.7%. ER positivity increasedand HER-2/neu positivity decreased with rising age. ER and PR expression was significantly lower in HER-2/neu positive as compared with HER-2/neu negative tumors (ER 83.8% vs 69.8%; PR 91.9% vs 77.8%). In theHER-2/neu positive tumors, ER and PR expression in high grade tumors was significantly decreased comparedwith intermediate grade tumors (ER 5.6% vs 10.5; PR 0% vs 5.3%). ER expression in the HER-2/neu positive,large sized tumors was also significantly decreased compared with smaller tumors (ER 6.3% vs 11.8). Conclusions:ER and PR expression in breast cancers in the current study was found to be comparable to publishedinternational data, but the frequency of HER-2/neu expression was higher, possibly reflecting a young age atdiagnosis. Assessment of prognostic markers for the clinical management of breast cancer patients is stronglyadvocated to provide best therapeutic options.     

乳腺癌分子分型在新辅助化疗疗效及预后预测中的作用

目的:探讨乳腺癌分子分型在新辅助化疗疗效及预后预测中的作用.方法:收集漯河市中心医院收治的236例接受新辅助化疗患者的临床病理资料,分为Luminal A、Luminal B、Her-2阳性和三阴乳腺癌4种分子分型,分析分子分型与临床病理因素、新辅助化疗疗效及 5 年生存率的相关性.结果:236例患者中,107例(45.3%)为Luminal A亚型,47例(19.9%)为Luminal B亚型,27例(11.4%)为Her-2阳性亚型,55例(23.3%)为三阴乳腺癌亚型.Her-2阳性(25.9%)及三阴乳腺癌亚型(30.9%)的病理完全缓解(pCR)率明显高于Luminal亚型(Luminal A亚型 4.7%及Luminal B亚型 8.5%),差异有统计学意义(P<0.05).与Luminal亚型相比,Her-2阳性及三阴乳腺癌亚型具有更差的5年无病生存和总生存(P<0.01);获得pCR的乳腺癌患者的5年无病生存和总生存明显高于化疗后仍有癌残留的患者(P<0.05).结论:相对于Luminal亚型,Her-2 阳性和三阴乳腺癌亚型对新辅助化疗更为敏感,更易达到pCR;但是Her-2阳性和三阴乳腺癌亚型预后反而更差.     

Evaluation of the predictive value of Her-2/neu overexpression and p53 mutations in high-risk primary breast cancer patients treated with high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem-cell transplantation.

PURPOSE: To ascertain the predictive value of Her-2/neu overexpression and p53 mutations, assessed by immunohistochemistry, in high-risk primary breast cancer (HRPBC) treated with high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We obtained paraffin-embedded tumor blocks from 146 HRPBC patients previously enrolled at our program onto clinical trials of HDCT for four to nine involved axillary lymph nodes, > or = 10 involved axillary nodes, or inflammatory carcinoma. All patients received the same HDCT regimen, with cyclophosphamide, cisplatin, and carmustine (STAMP-I), followed by autologous stem-cell transplantation. Median follow-up was 42 months (range, 5 to 90 months). The same pathologist, blinded to clinical outcome, reviewed all immunostained slides. RESULTS: Positive results for Her-2/neu and p53 were found in 44.5% and 34% of the patients, respectively. Positivity for Her-2/neu was significantly associated with increased risk of relapse and death. No correlation was found between p53 mutations and relapse-free survival (RFS) or overall survival (OS). Multivariate analyses included Her-2/neu overexpression and the following variables previously identified as independent predictors of outcome in this population: tumor size, nodal ratio (number of involved nodes/number of dissected nodes), and hormone receptor status. All four variables had independent value. CONCLUSION: Her-2/neu overexpression is an independent negative predictor of RFS and OS in HRPBC treated with HDCT. Its inclusion in our previously described predictive model increases the predictive capacity of this model for the low-risk subgroup. In contrast, p53 mutations lack predictive value in this setting.     

Post-mastectomy radiotherapy benefits subgroups of breast cancer patients with T1–2 tumor and 1–3 axillary lymph node(s) metastasis

Background

To determine the role of postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) in breast cancer patients with T1–2 and N1 disease.

Patients and methods.

A total of 207 postmastectomy women were enrolled. The 5-year Kaplan-Meier estimates of locoregional recurrence rate (LRR), distant recurrence rate (DRR) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed by different tumor characteristics. Multivariate analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazards modeling.

Results

With median follow-up 59.5 months, the 5-year LRR, DRR and OS were 9.1%, 20.3% and 84.4%, respectively. On univariate analysis, age < 40 years old (p = 0.003) and Her-2/neu over-expression (p = 0.016) were associated with higher LRR, whereas presence of LVI significantly predicted higher DRR (p = 0.026). Negative estrogen status (p = 0.033), Her-2/neu overexpression (p = 0.001) and LVI (p = 0.01) were significantly correlated with worse OS. PMRT didn’t prove to reduce 5-year LRR (p = 0.107), as well as 5-year OS (p = 0.918). In subgroup analysis, PMRT showed significant benefits of improvement LRR and OS in patients with positive LVI.

Conclusions

For patients with T1–2 and N1 stage breast cancer, PMRT can decrease locoregional recurrence and increase overall survival only in patients with lymphovascular invasion.     

Expression of ER,PR, and Her-2/neu in Endometrial Cancer: A Clinicopathological Study

Objective: To determine any association between expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor(PR), and Her-2/neu and clinicopathological features, including survival, of endometrial carcinoma (EMC)patients. Methods: Samples of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue of 108 patients with EMC treated atour institution between January 1994 and December 2007 were immunohistochemically studied. Results: ER,PR, and Her-2/neu expression were positive in 59.3%, 65.7% and 2.8% of cases, respectively. Positive ERexpression was significantly associated with grade I-II tumor while PR expression was linked with endometrioidhistology, grade I-II tumor, less myometrial invasion (MI) and negative lymph node involvement. Her-2/neuexpression was significantly associated with deep MI, while positive ER and negative Her-2/neu expression incombination was significantly associated with longer disease-free and overall survival. Conclusion: ER expressionis a good prognostic factor while Her-2/neu expression appears to be a poor indicator for both disease-free andoverall survival, while PR tended to show favorable influence for only disease-free survival of Thai EMCs.     

Prognostic value of Her-2/neu and DNA index for progression, metastasis and prostate cancer-specific death in men with long-term follow-up after radical prostatectomy

Abnormal DNA content in tumor cells represents large scale chromosomal alterations and reflects later changes of genetic instability. Her-2/neu oncogene is amplified in 20-30% of breast and ovarian cancer patients and is associated with poor prognosis. Therefore, we evaluated prognostic value of Her-2/neu expression and DNA content measurements in 252 clinically localized PCa patients with long-term follow-up after radical prostatectomy for progression, metastasis and PCa-specific death. Her-2/neu expression was determined by immunohistochemistry and DNA content measurements employed Feulgen-stained cancer nuclei captured using static image cytometry system. Cox proportional hazard regression and Kaplan-Meir plots were used to identify significant prognostic factors for progression, metastasis and PCa-specific death. The proportions of Her-2/neu positive and high %DNA index tumors significantly increased from nonprogressor to progressors without metastasis to progressors with metastasis (p < 0.0001; <0.0001). Further, the proportions of Her-2/neu positive and high %DNA index tumors significantly increased from patients who died from another cause without progression to those who died from another cause with progression to those died with PCa-specific death (p = 0.027; <0.0001). Her-2/neu expression and %DNA index were significant prognosticators for progression (p 相似文献   

Tumor-Derived Matrix Metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) Expression in Benign and Malignant Breast Lesions

Introduction: Breast carcinoma is the most common malignancy and the leading cause of cancer death in women. Matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) is a hypothetical prognostic marker in invasive breast cancer. This study aimed to determine MMP-13 expression in benign and malignant breast lesions and to evaluate the correlation between MMP-13 expression and tumor characteristics in invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). Materials and Method: We evaluated cytoplasmic expression of MMP-13 based on staining index using immunohistochemistry (IHC) in epithelial cells, stromal fibroblasts of IDC (n=90) and benign epithelial breast (n=90) lesions. Correlation between IHC and tumor size, lymph node status, distance metastasis, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and Her-2/neu was assessed. Results: MMP-13 expression was 45% and 38.8% in malignant epithelial cells and peritumoral fibroblasts, respectively. Only low level of MMP-13 expression was seen in benign breast lesions (8.8% in epithelial component and 2.2% in stromal fibroblasts), while high level of MMP-13 expression was noted in malignant tumors, mainly grade II or III. Cytoplasmic MMP-13 expressions in epithelial tumor cells was correlated significantly with peritumoral fibroblasts. MMP-13 expression was directly correlated with distant metastasis and tumor stage in epithelial tumoral cells and was inversely correlated with progesterone expression in both tumoral and stromal cells. Conclusion: This study showed that MMP-13 was a moderator for tumor invasion and metastasis and could be an independent predictor of poor prognosis in breast cancer. The role of MMP-13 in predicting the risk of malignant transformation in benign lesions should be further investigated.     

Impact of low estrogen/progesterone receptor expression on survival outcomes in breast cancers previously classified as triple negative breast cancers

PURPOSE:

To evaluate the impact of low estrogen/progesterone receptor (ER/PR) expression and effect of endocrine therapy on survival outcomes in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)‐negative tumors with ER/PR <10%, previously labeled as triple negative.

METHODS:

In a retrospective review, 1257 patients were categorized according their ER/PR percentages into 3 groups, ER/PR <1% (group A), ER/PR 1% to 5% (group B), and ER/PR 6% to 10% (group C). Kaplan‐Meier product limit method was used to estimate survival outcomes. Cox proportional hazards models was used to adjust for patient and tumor characteristics.

RESULTS

Groups A, B, and C had 897 (71.4%), 241 (19.2%), and 119 (9.4%) patients, respectively. After a median follow‐up of 40 months there was no significant difference in 3‐year recurrence‐free survival (RFS): 64%, 67%, and 77% (P = .34) or overall survival (OS): 79%, 81%, and 88% (P = .33) for groups A, B, and C, respectively. ER/PR expression was not an independent predictor for RFS (hazard ratio [HR], 1.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.86‐1.39; P = .46 for group B, and HR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.66‐1.38; P = .81 for group C, compared with group A), or OS (HR, 1.11; 95% CI, 0.84‐1.46; P = .46 for group B, and HR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.63‐1.42; P = .78 for group C, compared with group A). Endocrine therapy had no impact on survival outcomes (RFS: P = .10; OS: P = .45) among groups.

CONCLUSIONS:

In this cohort, a low ER/PR level (1%‐5%) does not appear to have any significant impact on survival outcomes. There was a tendency for survival advantages in the ER/PR 6% to 10% is seen. Benefit of endocrine therapy in these patients is unclear. Cancer 2011;. © 2011 American Cancer Society.     

Ki-67 as prognostic marker in early breast cancer: a meta-analysis of published studies involving 12,155 patients

The Ki-67 antigen is used to evaluate the proliferative activity of breast cancer (BC); however, Ki-67's role as a prognostic marker in BC is still undefined. In order to better define the prognostic value of Ki-67/MIB-1, we performed a meta-analysis of studies that evaluated the impact of Ki-67/MIB-1 on disease-free survival (DFS) and/or on overall survival (OS) in early BC. Sixty-eight studies were identified and 46 studies including 12 155 patients were evaluable for our meta-analysis; 38 studies were evaluable for the aggregation of results for DFS, and 35 studies for OS. Patients were considered to present positive tumours for the expression of Ki-67/MIB-1 according to the cut-off points defined by the authors. Ki-67/MIB-1 positivity is associated with higher probability of relapse in all patients (HR=1.93 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.74-2.14); P<0.001), in node-negative patients (HR=2.31 (95% CI: 1.83-2.92); P<0.001) and in node-positive patients (HR=1.59 (95% CI: 1.35-1.87); P<0.001). Furthermore, Ki-67/MIB-1 positivity is associated with worse survival in all patients (HR=1.95 (95% CI: 1.70-2.24; P<0.001)), node-negative patients (HR=2.54 (95% CI: 1.65-3.91); P<0.001) and node-positive patients (HR=2.33 (95% CI: 1.83-2.95); P<0.001). Our meta-analysis suggests that Ki-67/MIB-1 positivity confers a higher risk of relapse and a worse survival in patients with early BC.