Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, National Hospital Organization Takasaki General Medical Center, Gunma, Japan.
Department of General Surgical Science, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Gunma, Japan.
Med Mol Morphol. 2024 Sep;57(3):177-184. doi: 10.1007/s00795-024-00386-z. Epub 2024 Apr 15.
In some cases of human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer, including triple-negative breast cancer, HER2 expression is sporadically and strongly upregulated, a condition known as HER2 heterogeneity. We investigated the clinicopathological features of patients with HER2 heterogeneity in triple-negative breast cancers treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Thirty-nine patients with triple-negative breast cancer who had undergone preoperative chemotherapy participated in this study. To assess for HER2 heterogeneity, we used dual in situ hybridization slides. We evaluated the association between HER2 heterogeneity and clinicopathological factors such as rates of pathologic complete response (pCR) and of recurrence-free survival. Of the 39 patients, 15 (38.5%) had cancers with HER2 heterogeneity. The pCR rates were 13.3% among patients with HER2 heterogeneity and 20.8% among those with HER2 nonheterogeneity, but the difference was not significant. The recurrence-free survival rate was significantly lower in patients with HER2 heterogeneity than in those without (P = 0.025). HER2 heterogeneity is a significant predictor of poor prognosis in patients with triple-negative breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
在某些人类表皮生长因子 2（HER2）阴性乳腺癌病例中，包括三阴性乳腺癌，HER2 表达会偶然且强烈地上调，这种情况被称为 HER2 异质性。我们研究了接受新辅助化疗的三阴性乳腺癌中 HER2 异质性患者的临床病理特征。本研究纳入了 39 例接受术前化疗的三阴性乳腺癌患者。为了评估 HER2 异质性，我们使用了双重原位杂交幻灯片。我们评估了 HER2 异质性与临床病理因素（如病理完全缓解率 [pCR] 和无复发生存率）之间的关联。在 39 例患者中，有 15 例（38.5%）的癌症存在 HER2 异质性。HER2 异质性患者的 pCR 率为 13.3%，而 HER2 非异质性患者的 pCR 率为 20.8%，但差异无统计学意义。HER2 异质性患者的无复发生存率明显低于无 HER2 异质性患者（P=0.025）。HER2 异质性是接受新辅助化疗的三阴性乳腺癌患者预后不良的一个显著预测因素。
