Treatment Of HER2-positive Breast Cancer Patients Research Articles

Economic Evaluation of Neoadjuvant Treatment Strategies for HER2 Positive Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review

Context: There are several neoadjuvant treatment strategies for HER2-positive breast cancer (BC). Studies have investigated different aspects of these strategies and presented different findings. Objectives: This study aimed at collecting and interpreting economic evaluation studies related to neoadjuvant treatment strategies for HER2-positive BC. Methods: In this systematic review, PubMed, Web of Science (WOS), ScienceDirect, and Scopus databases were searched without a time limit between May and October 2023. Google Scholar search engine was also used to complete the search process. Two authors independently determined the eligibility of the study. To assess the quality of the studies, the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) guidelines were used. Disagreements were resolved by discussion or consultation with a third researcher. As this review is descriptive, numerical data were not extracted for statistical analysis. Results: Out of 234 studies found in the first stage, 21 studies from 14 countries were included. The strategies that have been approved by studies include THP (taxol, trastuzumab, pertuzumab), PTD (Pertuzumab in combination with trastuzumab and docetaxel), TH (docetaxel and trastuzumab), T-DM1 (trastuzumab emtansine), and HP (trastuzumab plus pertuzumab). Conclusions: The findings of this systematic review show that the reported strategies in the treatment of HER2-positive BC patients are cost-effective in different settings. While the findings of this review provide largely positive results, the characteristics of each strategy should be considered.

HER2 mRNA Levels, Estrogen Receptor Activity and Susceptibility to Trastuzumab in Primary Breast Cancer.

While the results thus far demonstrate the clinical benefit of trastuzumab in breast cancer (BC), some patients do not respond to this drug. HER2 mRNA, alone or combined with other genes/biomarkers, has been proven to be a powerful predictive marker in several studies. Here, we provide evidence of the association between HER2 mRNA levels and the response to anti-HER2 treatment in HER2-positive BC patients treated with adjuvant trastuzumab and show that this association is independent of estrogen receptor (ER) tumor positivity. While HER2 mRNA expression was significantly correlated with HER2 protein levels in ER-negative tumors, no correlation was found in ER-positive tumors, and HER2 protein expression was not associated with relapse risk. Correlation analyses in the ER-positive subset identified ER activity as the pathway inversely associated with HER2 mRNA. Associations between HER2 levels and oncogene addiction, as well as between HER2 activation and trastuzumab sensitivity, were also observed in vitro in HER2-positive BC cell lines. In ER-positive but not ER-negative BC cells, HER2 transcription was increased by reducing ligand-dependent ER activity or inducing ER degradation. Accordingly, HER2 mRNA levels in patients were found to be inversely correlated with blood levels of estradiol, the natural ligand of ER that induces ER activation. Moreover, low estradiol levels were associated with a lower risk of relapse in HER2-positive BC patients treated with adjuvant trastuzumab. Overall, we found that HER2 mRNA levels, but not protein levels, indicate the HER2 dependency of tumor cells and low estrogen-dependent ER activity in HER2-positive tumors.

Pyrotinib plus capecitabine for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients with brain metastases (PERMEATE): A multicenter, single-arm phase II study.

1037 Background: HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (BC) has a high risk of brain metastases (BM), leading to poor survival. Small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) with enhanced penetrability to the blood brain barrier combined with capecitabine have demonstrated promising clinical outcomes in HER2-positive metastatic BC patients with untreated (such as lapatinib) or previously treated (such as neratinib) BM. The randomized phase III PHOEBE trial has proved better efficacy of pyrotinib, an irreversible pan-HER receptor TKI, versus lapatinib when in combination with capecitabine in HER2-positive local relapsed or metastatic BC. This study was conducted to investigate the efficacy and safety of pyrotinib plus capecitabine in HER2-positive metastatic BC patients with BM. Methods: In this multicenter phase II trial (NCT03691051), eligible patients received pyrotinib 400 mg orally once daily without breaks and capecitabine 1000 mg/m2 orally twice daily for 14 days followed by 7 days off. Treatment was continued until disease progression or intolerable toxicity. Prior HER2 TKIs were not allowed. Cohort A included patients with radiotherapy-naive BM, and cohort B included those with progressive BM after whole brain radiotherapy or stereotactic conformal radiotherapy. The primary endpoint was confirmed central nervous system (CNS) objective response rate (ORR), as assessed according to the Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors version 1.1. Results: Between January 2018 and July 2020, a total of 78 female patients were included (Table). For cohort A (n = 59), the CNS ORR was 74.6% (95%CI: 61.6%-85.0%). For cohort B (n = 19), the CNS ORR was 42.1% (95%CI: 20.3%-66.5%). By the cutoff date on 25 January 2021, the median progression-free survival was 12.1 months (95%CI: 9.0-14.7) in cohort A and 5.6 months (95%CI: 3.4-10.7) in cohort B. The most common grade ≥3 adverse events were diarrhea (23.1% [18/78]), neutrophil count decreased (12.8% [10/78]), white blood cell count decreased (12.8% [10/78]), anemia (9.0% [7/78]), hand-foot syndrome (7.7% [6/78]), hypertriglyceridemia (6.4% [5/78]), and hypokalemia (5.1% [4/78]). Conclusions: Pyrotinib plus capecitabine resulted as an effective and safe treatment for HER2-positive BC patients with radiotherapy-naive BM, but the efficacy was modest in those with radiotherapy-treated BM. Clinical trial information: NCT03691051 .[Table: see text]

Automatic quantification of HER2 gene amplification in invasive breast cancer from chromogenic in situ hybridization whole slide images.

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), a transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor encoded by the ERBB2 gene on chromosome 17q12, is a predictive and prognostic biomarker in invasive breast cancer (BC). Approximately 20% of BC are HER2-positive as a result of ERBB2 gene amplification and overexpression of the HER2 protein. Quantification of HER2 is performed routinely on all invasive BCs, to assist in clinical decision making for prognosis and treatment for HER2-positive BC patients by manually counting gene signals. We propose an automated system to quantify the HER2 gene status from chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) whole slide images (WSI) in invasive BC. The proposed method selects untruncated and nonoverlapped singular nuclei from the cancer regions using color unmixing and machine learning techniques. Then, HER2 and chromosome enumeration probe 17 (CEP17) signals are detected based on the RGB intensity and counted per nucleus. Finally, the HER2-to-CEP17 signal ratio is calculated to determine the HER2 amplification status following the ASCO/CAP 2018 guidelines. The proposed method reduced the labor and time for the quantification. In the experiment, the correlation coefficient between the proposed automatic CISH quantification method and pathologist manual enumeration was 0.98. The -values larger than 0.05 from the one-sided paired -test ensured that the proposed method yields statistically indifferent results to the reference method. The method was established on WSI scanned by two different scanners. Through the experiments, the capability of the proposed system has been demonstrated.

Clinical practice-changing trials: the HERA study paradigm

Trastuzumab, a humanized anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody targeting the extracellular domain of this oncoprotein, represents the archetype of HER2 blocking agents. Its unprecedented efficacy for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (BC) led to its clinical development in the adjuvant setting. The HERceptin Adjuvant (HERA) is one of the pivotal adjuvant trastuzumab trials which proved that this compound can change the natural course of early stage HER2-positive BC. The HERA study led to the registration of trastuzumab for the adjuvant treatment of early HER2-positive BC. This trial randomized more than 5000 patients between 1 and 2 years of trastuzumab and observation after the completion of locoregional therapy and (neo)-adjuvant chemotherapy. Additionally, an abundance of subsequent substudies were conducted, addressing important clinical issues for this patient population. The present review article presents a comprehensive overview of the HERA study and its major contributions to the adjuvant treatment of HER2-positive BC patients. Emphasis is given on the lessons learned from this international collaborative experience and how this can be used as a stepping stone for further improvements in the field.Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.gov identifier: NCT00593697.Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.gov identifier: NCT00712140.Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.gov identifier: NCT00629278.Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.gov identifier: NCT00615602.Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.gov identifier: NCT00615602.Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.gov identifier: NCT00490139.Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.gov identifier: NCT01358877.

Trastuzumab Produces Therapeutic Actions by Upregulating miR-26a and miR-30b in Breast Cancer Cells

ObjectiveTrastuzumab has been used for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer (BC). However, a subset of BC patients exhibited resistance to trastuzumab therapy. Thus, clarifying the molecular mechanism of trastuzumab treatment will be beneficial to improve the treatment of HER2-positive BC patients. In this study, we identified trastuzumab-responsive microRNAs that are involved in the therapeutic effects of trastuzumab.Methods and ResultsRNA samples were obtained from HER2-positive (SKBR3 and BT474) and HER2-negetive (MCF7 and MDA-MB-231) cells with and without trastuzumab treatment for 6 days. Next, we conducted a microRNA profiling analysis using these samples to screen those microRNAs that were up- or down-regulated only in HER2-positive cells. This analysis identified miR-26a and miR-30b as trastuzumab-inducible microRNAs. Transfecting miR-26a and miR-30b induced cell growth suppression in the BC cells by 40% and 32%, respectively. A cell cycle analysis showed that these microRNAs induced G1 arrest in HER2-positive BC cells as trastuzumab did. An Annexin-V assay revealed that miR-26a but not miR-30b induced apoptosis in HER2-positive BC cells. Using the prediction algorithms for microRNA targets, we identified cyclin E2 (CCNE2) as a target gene of miR-30b. A luciferase-based reporter assay demonstrated that miR-30b post-transcriptionally reduced 27% (p = 0.005) of the gene expression by interacting with two binding sites in the 3′-UTR of CCNE2.ConclusionIn BC cells, trastuzumab modulated the expression of a subset of microRNAs, including miR-26a and miR-30b. The upregulation of miR-30b by trastuzumab may play a biological role in trastuzumab-induced cell growth inhibition by targeting CCNE2.