Abstract
BACKGROUND
The objective of the current study was to determine whether her‐2 amplification was associated with a pathologic response to preoperative chemotherapy with taxanes in patients with early‐stage breast carcinoma.
METHODS
The authors evaluated 71 patients treated for AJCC Stage II and III breast carcinoma with preoperative taxanes whose tissue specimens were still available. Fifty‐seven patients (80%) had received paclitaxel and 14 (20%) had received docetaxel (4 cycles of either drug). Amplification of the her‐2 gene was determined using fluorescence in situ hybridization.
RESULTS
The median patient age was 49 years (range, 21–70 years). Forty‐eight patients (68%) had Stage II breast carcinoma and 23 (32%) had Stage III disease. her‐2 gene amplification was detected in 19 tumor specimens (28%). Hormone receptors (estrogen and/or progesterone) were detected in 11 her‐2–positive tumor specimens (58%) and in 31 her‐2–negative tumor specimens (85%). Eight pathologic complete responses (pCR; breast and axillary lymph nodes) occurred, 3 (16%) in patients with her‐2–positive tumor specimens and five (10%) in patients with her‐2–negative tumor specimens (P = 0.68). Twelve patients achieved pCR in the breast, 5 (26%) in patients with her‐2–positive tumors and 7 (15%) in patients with her‐2–negative tumors (P = 0.3). At a median follow‐up of 61 months, none of the patients with a pCR developed recurrent disease, regardless of their her‐2 status. The progression‐free and overall survival rates were similar in both HER‐2–positive and her‐2–negative groups (P = 0.45 and P = 0.14, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS
her‐2 gene amplification was not found to be predictive of a pathologic response to preoperative taxanes in patients with early‐stage breast carcinoma. Cancer 2004. © 2004 American Cancer Society.