The Case to Case Comparison of Hormone Receptors and HER2 Status between Primary Breast Cancer and Synchronous Axillary Lymph Node Metastasis

Background: Nowadays, the adjuvant treatment for breast cancer patients chosen depends on immunohistochemical pattern of Estrogen receptor(ER), Progesterone receptor(PR) and HER2 status of primary breast tumor. Several retrospective studies showed significant discordance in receptor expression between primary and metastatic tumors. The objective of this research was to determine discordant rate of ER, PR and HER2 status between primary breast cancer and synchronous axillary lymph node metastasis of individual breast cancer patients in Thammasat University Hospital. Methods: A prospective observational study of all breast cancer patients who have axillary metastasis and underwent surgery at Thammasat Hospital between January 2011 to December 2015. Tumor staging, ER, PR, and HER2 status on primary breast tumor were recorded. Synchronous axillary lymph node metastasis was evaluated with immunohistochemistry for ER, PR, and HER2. Results: The ER-positive rate from primary tumor to synchronous axillary lymph node metastasis decreased from 74.7% to 71.7%; the HER2 overexpression rate was decreased from 26% to 24%. In contrast, PR positive rate were 71% in both primary tumor and synchronous axillary lymph node metastasis. In case to case comparison, discordance rate of ER, PR and HER2 status between primary breast cancer and synchronous axillary lymph node metastasis were 11.1%, 20.2% and 10.1%, respectively. Furthermore, the tumor staging was not significant associated with discordance of ER, PR and HER2. Conclusion: ER, PR and HER 2 biomarkers showed significant concordance between primary tumor and synchronous axillary lymph node metastasis. Hence, if we cannot assess the ER, PR and HER2 status in primary tumor, then synchronous axillary lymph node metastasis can be studied instead. However, the repeat of biomarker testing in node-positive breast cancer patients may be beneficial for tailored adjuvant therapy, especially for patients with negative hormone receptor and/or HER2 profile on primary tumor.     

Breast Cancer With Brain Metastases: Clinicopathologic Features,Survival, and Paired Biomarker Analysis

Background.

The aim of this study was to describe clinicopathologic features of patients with breast cancer brain metastasis (BCBM); to evaluate survival after diagnosis of BCBM; and to compare estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2 expression in the paired primary and brain tumors.

Materials and Methods.

We identified 140 consecutive patients who underwent craniotomy for BCBM (either for diagnostic purpose or with therapeutic intent) at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center between 2002 and 2009.

Results.

Most patients had invasive ductal histology (91%), grade 3 tumors (67%), and positive axillary lymph node (64%). Of the tumors, 56% were ER-negative, 62% were PR-negative, 44% were HER2-positive, and 28% were triple negative (TN). Brain metastasis (BM) was solitary in 51% of patients. Median interval from breast cancer diagnosis to BM was 46 months; median survival after BM was 14.1 months. In the univariate analysis, younger age, solitary brain metastasis, and ER or PR positivity in the breast tumors were associated with longer survival. There was a statistical trend toward increased survival in HER2-positive patients compared with HER2-negative patients (18 vs. 11 months). In the multivariate analysis, predictors for longer survival included younger age, solitary brain lesion, and HER2 positivity in the breast cancer. Biomarkers were evaluated in paired primary and brain tumors in 35 patients for ER status, 34 for PR status, and 36 for HER2 status. Discordant rates were 28% for ER, 20% for PR, and 3% for HER2.

Conclusion.

Compared with unselected breast cancer patients at the same institution, patients with breast cancer who had brain metastases had a higher proportion of hormone receptor-negative, HER2-positive, and TN tumors. Younger age, solitary brain lesion, and HER2 expression were independent predictors of better survival in patients with BCBM. HER2 status was highly concordant between the paired primary and brain tumors, whereas changes of ER and PR status occurred in a substantial proportion of the patients. These findings are important for making effective treatment decisions for patients with BCBM.     

Discrepancies between biomarkers of primary breast cancer and subsequent brain metastases: an international multicenter study

Purpose

Discordances between the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), expression between primary breast tumors and their subsequent brain metastases (BM) were investigated in breast cancer patients.

Methods

We collected retrospective data from 11 institutions in 8 countries in a predefined-standardized format. Receptor status (positive or negative) was determined according to institutional guidelines (immunohistochemically and/or fluorescence in situ hybridization). The study was subject to each institution’s ethical research committee.

Results

A total of 167 breast cancer patients with BM were included. 25 patients out of 129 with a complete receptor information from both primary tumor and BM (ER, PR, HER2) available, had a change in receptor status: 7 of 26 (27%) ER/PR-positive/HER2-negative primaries (3 gained HER2; 4 lost expression of ER/PR); 10 of 31 (32%) ER/PR-positive/HER2-positive primaries (4 lost ER/PR only; 3 lost HER2 only; 3 lost both ER/PR and HER2); one of 33 (3%) ER/PR-negative receptor/HER2-positive primaries (gained ER); and 7 of 39 (18%) triple-negative primaries (5 gained ER/PR and 2 gained HER2).

Conclusions

The majority of breast cancer patients with BM in this series had primary HER2-enriched tumors, followed by those with a triple-negative profile. One out of 5 patients had a receptor discrepancy between the primary tumor and subsequent BM. Therefore, we advise receptor status assessment of BM in all breast cancer patients with available histology as it may have significant implications for therapy.

     

ER(-)PR(+)乳腺癌辅助内分泌治疗的疗效

背景与目的：孕激素受体（PR）状态是雌激素受体（ER）状态预测乳腺癌辅助内分泌治疗的补充，临床上推荐ER阳性（＋）或PR（＋）患者均可接受内分泌治疗。ER阴性（-）PR（＋）肿瘤应用辅助内分泌治疗的疗效如何还存在争议。本研究将探讨辅助内分泌治疗对ER（＋）PR（＋）与ER（-）PR（＋）乳腺癌的疗效，并研究ER（-）PR（＋）患者的临床病理特性及预后。方法：回顾了1991年1月-2001年12月间的1863位ER／PR资料可用的可手术乳腺癌患者资料，ER、PR均采用免疫组化法检测。中位随访48个月，比较ER（-）PR（＋）组（205例）和ER（＋）PR（＋）组（798例）接受或不接受辅助内分泌治疗（3～5年的他莫昔芬）的无病生存（DFS）和总生存（0s）的差异。结果：ER（-）PR（＋）患者占全部乳腺癌患者的11．0％，中位年龄49岁，肿块中值大小3．0cm，其中未绝经者比例高达63．9％。ER（-）PR（＋）组较ER（＋）PR（＋）组而言，腋淋巴结转移数高、肿块大、分期晚。ER（＋）PR（＋）组和ER（-）PR（＋）组未行内分泌治疗时，组间生存差异无显著性；内分泌治疗后，两组的生存率均有所提高，但ER（＋）PR（＋）组的预后比ER（-）PR（＋）组更好（DFS：P=0．016，OS：P=0．007）。多因素分析显示对ER（-）PR（＋）患者，仅有腋淋巴结状态是独立的预后指标。结论：辅助内分泌治疗对ER（＋）PR（＋）乳腺癌的疗效优于对ER（-）PR（＋）乳腺癌的疗效，ER（-）PR（＋）患者能从内分泌治疗中得到一定收益，但较有限。     

Estrogen receptor (ER) mRNA expression and molecular subtype distribution in ER-negative/progesterone receptor-positive breast cancers

We examined estrogen receptor (ER) mRNA expression and molecular subtypes in stage I–III breast cancers that are progesterone receptor (PR) positive but ER and HER2 negative by immunohistochemistry (IHC) or fluorescent in situ hybridization. The ER, PR, and HER2 status was determined by IHC as part of routine clinical assessment (N = 501). Gene expression profiling was done with the Affymetrix U133A gene chip. We compared expressions of ESR1 and MKI67 mRNA, distribution of molecular subtypes by the PAM50 classifier, the sensitivity to endocrine therapy index, and the DLDA30 chemotherapy response predictor signature among ER/PR-positive (n = 223), ER-positive/PR-negative (n = 73), ER-negative/PR-positive (n = 20), and triple-negative (n = 185) cancers. All patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy with an anthracycline and taxane and had adjuvant endocrine therapy only if ER or PR > 10 % positive. ESR1 expression was high in 25 % of ER-negative/PR-positive, in 79 % of ER-positive/PR-negative, in 96 % of ER/PR-positive, and in 12 % of triple-negative cancers by IHC. The average MKI67 expression was significantly higher in the ER-negative/PR-positive and triple-negative cohorts. Among the ER-negative/PR-positive patients, 15 % were luminal A, 5 % were Luminal B, and 65 % were basal like. The relapse-free survival rate of ER-negative/PR-positive patients was equivalent to ER-positive cancers and better than the triple-negative cohort. Only 20–25 % of the ER-negative/PR-positive tumors show molecular features of ER-positive cancers. In this rare subset of patients (i) a second RNA-based assessment may help identifying the minority of ESR1 mRNA-positive, luminal-type cancers and (ii) the safest clinical approach may be to consider both adjuvant endocrine and chemotherapy.     

Conversion of epidermal growth factor receptor 2 and hormone receptor expression in breast cancer metastases to the brain

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: We investigated the status of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha), progesterone receptor (PR) and epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) in primary tumor and in the corresponding brain metastases in a consecutive series of breast cancer patients. Additionally, we studied factors potentially influencing conversion and evaluated its association with survival. METHODS: The study group included 120 breast cancer patients. ERalpha, PR and HER2 status in primary tumors and in matched brain metastases was determined centrally by immunohistochemistry and/or fluorescence in situ hybridization. RESULTS: Using the Allred score of >3 as a threshold, conversion of ERalpha and PR in brain metastases occurred in 29% cases for both receptors, mostly from positive to negative. Conversion of HER2 occurred in 14% of patients and was more balanced either way. Time to brain relapse and the use of chemotherapy or trastuzumab did not influence conversion, whereas endocrine therapy induced conversion of ERalpha (P=0.021) and PR (P=0.001), mainly towards their loss. Receptor conversion had no significant impact on survival. CONCLUSIONS: Receptor conversion, particularly loss of hormone receptors, is a common event in brain metastases from breast cancer, and endocrine therapy may increase its incidence. Receptor conversion does not significantly impact survival.     

Receptors for epidermal growth factor and steroid hormones in human breast cancer

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) seems to play an important role in regulating the proliferation of human breast cancer. Fifty-five primary breast tumors and 7 lymph node metastases were simultaneously assayed for the presence of EGF receptors (EGFR), estrogen receptors (ER), and progesterone receptors (PR). Overall, 42% (23/55) of the tumors were EGFR positive. EGFR were more frequently present in ER- and PR-negative than in ER- and PR-positive tumors. In particular, a negative correlation between EGFR and PR (chi 2 = 6.8; p greater than 0.01) was observed. All metastatic tumors were EGFR negative, and in all cases but 1 the levels of EGFR were higher in metastatic than in primary tumors. Our results suggest the presence of a subclass of breast tumors, the growth of which is primarily regulated by EGF or EGF-like substances rather than by steroid hormones. In this group, not amenable to endocrine therapy, EGF receptors should represent a target for therapeutic intervention.     

Discordance in ERα, PR and HER2 receptor status across different distant breast cancer metastases within the same patient

BackgroundWe studied discordance in estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status between multiple distant metastases from the same breast cancer patient.Material and methodsMultiple distant metastases from 55 female patients were stained for ERα, PR and HER2 by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization for confirmation of the HER2 status.ResultsDifferent metastatic sites within the same patient showed discordance in ERα receptor status in 7.3% or 10.9% of patients (using a 10% or 1% threshold for positivity, respectively). For PR, 29.1% or 30.9% of patients showed discordance. Taking ERα and PR together, 36.4% of cases (both thresholds) showed discrepancy between metastases. In 10.9% (10% threshold) or 14.5% of patients (1% threshold), such discordance could have clinical consequences with regard to hormonal treatment. For HER2, there was 3.6% discordance on the immunohistochemical level but 0% on the gene level.ConclusionIn a significant proportion of metastatic breast cancer patients, discordance in ERα and PR receptor status between different metastatic sites was observed. This implies that multiple metastases may need to be biopsied to optimally reassess receptors.     

Prognostic impact of discordance between triple-receptor measurements in primary and recurrent breast cancer

BackgroundWe evaluated discordance in expression measurements for estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2 between primary and recurrent tumors in patients with recurrent breast cancer and its effect on prognosis.MethodsA total of 789 patients with recurrent breast cancer were studied. ER, PR, and HER2 status were determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and/or FISH. Repeat markers for ER, PR, and HER2 were available in 28.9%, 27.6%, and 70.0%, respectively. Primary and recurrent tumors were classified as triple receptor-negative breast cancer (TNBC) or receptor-positive breast cancer (RPBC, i.e. expressing at least one receptor). Discordance was correlated with clinical/pathological parameters.ResultsDiscordance for ER, PR, and HER2 was 18.4%, 40.3%, and 13.6%, respectively. Patients with concordant RPBC had significantly better post-recurrence survival (PRS) than discordant cases; patients with discordant receptor status had similarly unfavorable survival as patients with concordant TNBC. IHC scores for ER and PR showed weak concordance between primary and recurrent tumors. Concordance of HER2–FISH scores was higher.ConclusionsConcordance of quantitative hormone receptor measurements between primary and recurrent tumors is modest consistent with suboptimal reproducibility of measurement methods, particularly for IHC. Discordant cases have poor survival probably due to inappropriate use of targeted therapies. However, biological change in clinical phenotype cannot be completely excluded.     

Estrogen,progesterone, and HER2/neu receptor discordance between primary and metastatic breast tumours—a review

Discordance in estrogen (ER), progesterone (PR), and HER2/neu status between primary breast tumours and metastatic disease is well recognized. In this review, we highlight how receptor discordance between primary tumours and paired metastasis can help elucidate the mechanism of metastasis but can also effect patient management and the design of future trials. Discordance rates and ranges were available from 47 studies (3384 matched primary and metastatic pairs) reporting ER, PR, and HER2/neu expression for both primary and metastatic sites. Median discordance rates for ER, PR, and HER2/neu were 14 % (range 0–67 %, IQR 9–25 %), 21 % (range 0–62 %, IQR 15–41 %), and 10 % (range 0–44 %, IQR 4–17 %), respectively. Loss of receptor expression was more common (9.17 %) than gain (4.51 %). Discordance rates varied amongst site of metastasis with ER discordance being highest in bone metastases suggesting that discordance is a true biological phenomenon. Discordance rates vary for both the biomarker and the metastatic site. Loss of expression is more common than gain. This can affect patient management as it can lead to a reduction in both the efficacy and availability of potential therapeutic agents. Future studies are recommended to explore both the mechanisms of discordance as well as its impact on patient outcome and management.     

Biology of progesterone receptor loss in breast cancer and its implications for endocrine therapy.

The response to endocrine therapy in breast cancer correlates with estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) status. ER-positive/PR-negative breast cancers respond less well to selective ER modulator (SERM) therapy than ER-positive/PR-positive tumors. The predictive value of PR has long been attributed to the dependence of PR expression on ER activity, with the absence of PR reflecting a nonfunctional ER and resistance to hormonal therapy. However, recent clinical and laboratory evidence suggests that ER-positive/PR-negative breast cancers may be specifically resistant to SERMs, whereas they may be less resistant to estrogen withdrawal therapy with aromatase inhibitors, which is a result inconsistent with the nonfunctional ER theory. Novel alternative molecular mechanisms potentially explaining SERM resistance in ER-positive/PR-negative tumors have been suggested by recent experimental indications that growth factors may downregulate PR levels. Thus, the absence of PR may not simply indicate a lack of ER activity, but rather may reflect hyperactive cross talk between ER and growth factor signaling pathways that downregulate PR even as they activate other ER functions. Therefore, ER-positive/PR-negative breast tumors might best be treated by completely blocking ER action via estrogen withdrawal with aromatase inhibitors, by targeted ER degradation, or by combined therapy targeting both ER and growth factor signaling pathways. In this review, we will discuss the biology and etiology of ER-positive/PR-negative breast cancer, highlighting recent data on molecular cross talk between ER and growth factor signaling pathways and demonstrating how PR might be a useful marker of these activities. Finally, we will consider the clinical implications of these observations.     

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.     

乳腺癌原发灶与转移灶分子分型指标表达差异的研究

目的 乳腺癌患者激素受体(hormone receptor,HR)、人类表皮生长因子受体2(human epidermal growth factor receptor 2,HER2)和增殖细胞核抗原Ki-67的表达状态直接影响治疗方案的制订.本研究通过比较可手术乳腺癌原发灶与腋窝淋巴结转移灶及治疗后远处转移灶之间HR、HER2和Ki-67表达状况,探讨其表达的一致性,以期为乳腺癌患者综合治疗方案的制订提供参考.方法 选取2015-03-01-2016-04-30就诊于山东大学附属山东省肿瘤医院(162例)和梁山县人民医院(23例)的185例乳腺癌患者作为研究对象.患者均为女性,年龄24～79岁,中位年龄49岁.浸润性导管癌171例,浸润性小叶癌14例.初治直接接受手术治疗患者110例,其中有腋窝淋巴结转移77例;复发转移患者接受转移灶穿刺患者75例,其中肝脏转移43例,肺脏转移32例.所有标本均检测ER、PR、HER2和Ki-67表达,比较原发灶与腋窝淋巴结及远处转移灶的表达情况.结果 原发灶与腋窝淋巴结转移灶ER、PR、HER2和Ki-67表达差异均无统计学意义(均P＞0.05),ER变化率为3.9％,PR为7.8％,HER2为11.7％,Ki-67为20.8％.原发灶与远处转移灶比较,PR和Ki-67表达差异有统计学意义(均P值＜0.05),而ER和HER2表达差异无统计学意义(均P＞0.05),ER变化率为21.3％,PR为29.3％,HER2为18.7％,Ki-67为29.3％.结论 乳腺癌原发灶与转移腋窝淋巴结ER、PR、HER2和Ki-67表达状况一致性较高;原发灶与远处转移灶PR和Ki-67的表达存在差异,ER和HER2的表达无差异,这可能受多种因素的影响,建议对原发灶及转移灶同时进行生物学信息的检测,为患者制订治疗方案提供可靠的生物学信息.     

Steroid receptor expressions in endometrial cancer: clinical significance and epidemiological implication

The evaluation of expression levels of the estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) in endometrial cancer is a very common procedure in modern practice. However, the significance of such tests remains controversial, and the evaluation of the status of steroid receptors seems to be a more thoroughly justified practice. The present study was carried out with 145 endometrial cancer patients, all of whom had undergone operations at the Seoul National University Hospital, from 1993 to 2002. Paraffin-embedded tissue blocks were sectioned and immunostained with monoclonal anti-ER and anti-PR antibodies. Clinicopathological variables were also analyzed, with 10% cutoff values for ER and PR positivity. A multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed in order to estimate the influences of several clinicopathological and immunohistochemical covariates on patient survival. Forty seven specimens (32.4%) stained as ER positive, and 110 (75.9%) stained as PR-positive. Patients with PR-positive tumor tended to be both younger and more obese than patients with PR-negative tumors (P=0.020, 0.016). Well-differentiated tumors were found to be positive for ER or PR more frequently (P=0.015, <0.001). ER or PR-positive tumors exhibited significantly less myometrial invasion (P=0.042, 0.002). However, multivariate Cox regression analyses revealed that the expressions of ER and PR were not significantly associated with patient survival, and only advanced FIGO stage constituted an independent prognostic factor. Our results suggested that the evaluation of steroid receptors might prove helpful prior to surgery. Low ER and high PR values suggest that racial differences and/or sequential loss of receptors during carcinogenesis might be involved in the expression of steroid receptors in cases of endometrial cancer.     

同期腋窝转移淋巴结受体检测在激素受体阴性乳腺癌中的临床意义

  目的   探讨同期腋淋巴结转移病灶雌激素受体（estrogen receptor,ER）和孕激素受体（progesterone receptor,PR）补测在激素受体阴性浸润性乳腺癌中的临床意义。   方法   观察2012年7月至2013年1月,重庆医科大学附属第一医院内分泌乳腺外科门诊随访及住院患者中补测激素受体阴性乳腺癌同期腋淋巴结转移病灶ER和PR的表达情况,所有标本（包括原发癌病灶及同期腋淋巴结转移病灶）的免疫组织化学检测均由重庆医科大学病理检测中心进行,根据检测报告,原发病灶阴性而腋淋巴结转移病灶ER和/或PR阳性者补加内分泌治疗。   结果   56例激素受体阴性乳腺癌中,同期腋淋巴结转移病灶ER阳性8例（14.3%）,PR阳性2例（3.6 %）,ER和PR均阳性3例（5.4%）,共13例（23.3%）因补查腋淋巴结转移病灶ER和/或PR变阳性而在随访中加用内分泌治疗。肿瘤原发病灶与腋转移淋巴结ER和PR均阴性43例（76.7%）,即肿瘤原发癌病灶与腋转移淋巴结ER和PR均为阴性表达的总符合率为76.7%,不一致率为23.3%。   结论   受体阴性浸润性乳腺癌原发病灶与腋淋巴结转移病灶ER和PR表达具有一定的不一致性,对原发癌病灶激素受体阴性乳腺癌患者应检查其同期腋淋巴结转移病灶受体的表达,可能筛查出原发病灶受体阴性而复发转移病灶受体阳性患者,及时加用内分泌治疗,提高该类患者的疗效,亦可解释部分激素受体阴性而内分泌治疗也有一定疗效的原因。      

Is Her-2 Status in the Primary Tumor Correlated with Matched Lymph Node Metastases in Patients with Gastric Cancer Undergoing Curative Gastrectomy?

Background: HER2 expression in the primary tumor and its lymph node metastases vary in gastric cancer,reflecting intratumoral heterogeneity. This finding also suggests that proliferation of a different clone in metastaticnodes is possible. In the current study, we aimed to determine the cause of discordance in HER-2 expressionin the primary tumor and lymph node metastases for patients with gastric cancer. Materials and Methods:Eighty-one patients with gastric cancer who had undergone radical gastrectomy and were found to have lymphnode metastasis upon pathological examination were included. Histopathological samples were obtained frombiopsies obtained during patient gastrectomies and lymph node dissection. HER2 status was evaluated by bothimmunohistochemistry (IHC) and silver in situ hybridization (SISH). Results: Sixty-four (79%) patients wereSISH (-), while 17 (21%) were SISH (+) in the primary tumor. However, in metastatic lymph nodes, HER2 statuswas SISH positive in 5 (28.3%) of the 64 SISH (-) primary tumor specimens. One of the 17 SISH (+) primarytumors was SISH (-) in the metastatic lymph nodes. Thus, SISH results for HER2 in both primary tumors andlymph node metastases were comparable, showing a concordance of 92.5%. In total, six patients demonstrateddiscordance between the primary tumor and lymph node metastases. The prevalence of HER2 discordance wassignificantly higher for patients in the pN2 and N3 stages (p=0.007). Although discordant patients had worsesurvival rates than concordant patients, the differences were not significant (p>0.05).Conclusions: Our studyindicates that the frequency of concordance in HER2 status, as determined by IHC or SISH, is high in primarytumors and their corresponding lymph node metastases for patients with gastric cancer. If there is a discrepancyin HER2 status, its evaluation by both IHC and SISH may be useful for detecting patients who would benefitfrom trastuzumab, and it would therefore help guide decision-making processes in administering treatment.     

Estrogen and progesterone receptors in ovarian cancer

To determine whether steroid hormone receptor expression is clinically relevant in ovarian cancer, cytoplasmic and nuclear estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptor levels have been measured and their concentration calculated by Scatchard analysis. Of 89 samples from patients with non-pretreated epithelial ovarian cancer, 33% were ER-positive, PR-positive (ER+PR+) and 40% ER-negative, PR-negative (ER-PR-); 20% were ER+PR-, and 7% ER-PR+. There was no correlation between receptor status and patient age, menopausal status, or tumor grade, although serous tumors were more likely to be ER+. The incidence of PR+ tumors was highest in early disease and decreased with increasing International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage. Survival of patients with advanced disease (FIGO Stages IIC, III, or IV) was significantly prolonged by optimal initial cytoreductive surgery (P = 0.002), platinum therapy (P = 0.003), and tumor expression of PR (P = 0.009). On multivariate analysis, PR positivity was still associated with improved survival, although this did not retain statistical significance (P = 0.09).     

Steroid hormone receptors in breast tumours presenting during pregnancy or lactation

Cytosol oestrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) levels were measured in tumours from three patients with breast cancer during pregnancy and from three patients developing breast cancer while lactating. All lactating patients were ER-positive and two were PR-positive, whereas pregnant patients were uniformly ER-negative and PR-negative. Pregnant patients had a significantly shorter disease-free survival compared with matched nonpregnant women with breast cancer. Of five patients developing metastatic disease, one from the lactating group had a complete remission with chemotherapy and one had static disease with endocrine treatment, whereas all others had progressive disease despite a variety of treatments. Although numbers are too small to permit generalisation, these provisional data suggest that patients presenting with breast cancer during pregnancy may have mainly receptor-negative tumours, a short disease-free interval, and may be relatively resistant to treatment of metastatic disease. By comparison, patients with breast tumours during lactation have receptor-positive disease and metastases may respond to systemic therapy.     

High progesterone receptor expression correlates to the effect of adjuvant tamoxifen in premenopausal breast cancer patients.

PURPOSE: Tamoxifen has long been the drug of choice in adjuvant endocrine therapy of steroid hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, and it still remains important due to its well-documented beneficial effect. Hormone receptor status is often reported as "positive" or "negative" using 10% positive nuclei as a cutoff. In this study, we aimed to assess whether a further subclassification of hormone receptor status could enhance the treatment predictive value. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: The immunohistochemical expression of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) was quantified in tissue microarrays with tumors from 500 premenopausal breast cancer patients previously included in a randomized trial of adjuvant tamoxifen compared with an untreated control group. RESULTS: Our findings show a gradually increasing tamoxifen effect in tumors with >10% ER-positive nuclei. However, when analyzing tamoxifen response according to various PR fractions, we found that it was primarily patients with tumors showing >75% PR-positive nuclei that responded to tamoxifen treatment, with an improved recurrence-free [relative risk, 0.42 (0.25-0.70); P = 0.001] as well as overall [relative risk, 0.49 (0.28-0.84); P = 0.010] survival. CONCLUSIONS: Adjuvant tamoxifen improved recurrence-free and overall survival for premenopausal patients with tumors showing >75% PR-positive nuclei. No effect could be shown in tumors with fewer PR-positive nuclei. The PR was a stronger predictor of treatment response than the ER. Based on these findings, we suggest the implementation of a fractioned rather than dichotomized immunohistochemical evaluation of hormone receptors in clinical practice, possibly with greater emphasis on the PR than the ER.     

The expression of fascin, an actin-bundling motility protein, correlates with hormone receptor-negative breast cancer and a more aggressive clinical course.

The invasion and metastasis of tumor cells is a major cause of mortality in cancer patients. In the current study, we investigated the expression of fascin, an actin-bundling motility-associated protein, in 210 invasive breast carcinomas with corresponding 5-year clinical follow-up. Fascin expression was compared with hormone receptor (ER/PR) status, HER2 status, cancer grade, cancer stage, metastasis pattern, disease-free survival, and overall survival. Fascin expression was seen in 16% (33/210) of the cases and correlated with ER negativity (22/33, P < 0.001), PR negativity (21/33, P < 0.001), Bloom-Richardson grade 3 (19/29, P < 0.001), and advanced stage (stage 3 or 4, P = 0.04).There was no correlation between fascin expression and HER2 status or pattern of metastases. Patients whose tumors were positive for fascin showed both a decreased mean disease-free survival (74.44 versus 100.52 months, P = 0.002) and mean overall survival (77.58 versus 98.98 months, P = 0.002), independent of tumor stage and HER2 status, but not independent of ER/PR status or cancer grade. Given fascin's role in altering cell motility, overexpression may contribute to a more aggressive clinical course in ER/PR-negative breast cancers. If so, then fascin may represent a new molecular target for therapeutic intervention in patients with ER-negative breast cancer.