Anti-epidermal growth factor receptor-antibody therapy for treatment of breast cancer

✍ Scribed by Christine Solbach; Marc Roller; Andre Ahr; Sibylle Loibl; Maria Nicoletti; Manfred Stegmueller; Hans-Georg Kreysch; Rainald Knecht; Manfred Kaufmann

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2002
• Tongue: French
• Weight: 118 KB
• Volume: 101
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0020-7136
• DOI: 10.1002/ijc.10615

✦ Synopsis

Recent studies demonstrated that tumors overexpressing the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R, erbB-1) are associated with poor clinical outcome. This led to the development of a variety of monoclonal antibodies targeting the extracellular domain of this receptor tyrosine kinase. The aim of our study was the evaluation of anti-EGF-R antibody EMD 55900 therapy for treatment of breast cancer. On the basis of 299 tumor specimens derived from breast cancer patients, we investigated EGF-R expression and generated a collective of primary xenotransplants in athymic nude mice. The animals received therapy in 2 treatment schedules to investigate the therapeutic response in early stages of tumor formation as well as on well established tumors. Using 6 different tumors with EGF-R expression levels between 10-300 fmol/mg total protein, we found a therapeutic effect when the EGF-R expression of the tumors was at least 40 fMol/mg. On the basis of these experimental data and our EGF-R expression analysis of breast cancer specimens, we conclude that up to 15% of breast cancer patients could benefit from this monotherapy with EMD 55900.