Causality and functional relevance of BRCA1 and BRCA2 pathogenic variants in non-high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas.

The identification of causal BRCA1/2 pathogenic variants (PVs) in epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC) aids the selection of patients for genetic counselling and treatment decision-making. Current recommendations therefore stress sequencing of all EOCs, regardless of histotype. Although it is recognised that BRCA1/2 PVs cluster in high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas (HGSOC), this view is largely unsubstantiated by detailed analysis. Here, we aimed to analyse the results of BRCA1/2 tumour sequencing in a centrally revised, consecutive, prospective series including all EOC histotypes. Sequencing of n = 946 EOCs revealed BRCA1/2 PVs in 125 samples (13%), only eight of which were found in non-HGSOC histotypes. Specifically, BRCA1/2 PVs were identified in high-grade endometrioid (3/20; 15%), low-grade endometrioid (1/40; 2.5%), low-grade serous (3/67; 4.5%), and clear cell (1/64; 1.6%) EOCs. No PVs were identified in any mucinous ovarian carcinomas tested. By re-evaluation and using loss of heterozygosity and homologous recombination deficiency analyses, we then assessed: (1) whether the eight 'anomalous' cases were potentially histologically misclassified and (2) whether the identified variants were likely causal in carcinogenesis. The first 'anomalous' non-HGSOC with a BRCA1/2 PV proved to be a misdiagnosed HGSOC. Next, germline BRCA2 variants, found in two p53-abnormal high-grade endometrioid tumours, showed substantial evidence supporting causality. One additional, likely causal variant, found in a p53-wildtype low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma, was of somatic origin. The remaining cases showed retention of the BRCA1/2 wildtype allele, suggestive of non-causal secondary passenger variants. We conclude that likely causal BRCA1/2 variants are present in high-grade endometrioid tumours but are absent from the other EOC histotypes tested. Although the findings require validation, these results seem to justify a transition from universal to histotype-directed sequencing. Furthermore, in-depth functional analysis of tumours harbouring BRCA1/2 variants combined with detailed revision of cancer histotypes can serve as a model in other BRCA1/2-related cancers. © 2023 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

BluePrint molecular subtypes predict response to neoadjuvant pertuzumab in HER2-positive breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: The introduction of pertuzumab has greatly improved pathological complete response (pCR) rates in HER2-positive breast cancer, yet effects on long-term survival have been limited and it is uncertain which patients derive most benefit. In this study, we determine the prognostic value of BluePrint subtyping in HER2-positive breast cancer. Additionally, we evaluate its use as a biomarker for predicting response to trastuzumab-containing neoadjuvant chemotherapy with or without pertuzumab. METHODS: From a cohort of patients with stage II-III HER2-positive breast cancer who were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and trastuzumab with or without pertuzumab, 836 patients were selected for microarray gene expression analysis, followed by readout of BluePrint standard (HER2, Basal and Luminal) and dual subtypes (HER2-single, Basal-single, Luminal-single, HER2-Basal, Luminal-HER2, Luminal-HER2-Basal). The associations between subtypes and pathological complete response (pCR), overall survival (OS) and breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) were assessed, and pertuzumab benefit was evaluated within the BluePrint subgroups. RESULTS: BluePrint results were available for 719 patients. In patients with HER2-type tumors, the pCR rate was 71.9% in patients who received pertuzumab versus 43.5% in patients who did not (adjusted Odds Ratio 3.43, 95% CI 2.36-4.96). Additionally, a significantly decreased hazard was observed for both OS (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.45, 95% CI 0.25-0.80) and BCSS (aHR 0.46, 95% CI 0.24-0.86) with pertuzumab treatment. Findings were similar in the HER2-single subgroup. No significant benefit of pertuzumab was seen in other subtypes. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with HER2-type or HER2-single-type tumors, pertuzumab significantly improved the pCR rate and decreased the risk of breast cancer mortality, which was not observed in other subtypes. BluePrint subtyping may be valuable in future studies to identify patients that are likely to be highly sensitive to HER2-targeting agents.

Beyond the snapshot: optimizing prognostication and prediction by moving from fixed to functional multidimensional cancer pathology.

The role of pathology in patient management has evolved over time from the retrospective review of cells, tissue, and disease ('what happened') to a prospective outlook ('what will happen'). Examination of a static, two-dimensional hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained tissue slide has traditionally been the pathologist's primary task, but novel ancillary techniques enabled by technological breakthroughs have supported pathologists in their increasing ability to predict disease status and behaviour. Nevertheless, the informational limits of 2D, fixed tissue are now being reached and technological innovation is urgently needed to ensure that our understanding of disease entities continues to support improved individualized treatment options. Here we review pioneering work currently underway in the field of cancer pathology that has the potential to capture information beyond the current basic snapshot. A selection of exciting new technologies is discussed that promise to facilitate integration of the functional and multidimensional (space and time) information needed to optimize the prognostic and predictive value of cancer pathology. Learning how to analyse, interpret, and apply the wealth of data acquired by these new approaches will challenge the knowledge and skills of the pathology community. © 2022 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

Enrichment of high-grade tumors in breast cancer gene expression studies.

PURPOSE: Gene expression (GE) profiling for breast cancer classification and prognostication has become increasingly used in clinical diagnostics. GE profiling requires a reasonable tumor cell percentage and high-quality RNA. As a consequence, a certain amount of samples drop out. If tumor characteristics are different between samples included and excluded from GE profiling, this can lead to bias. Therefore, we assessed whether patient and tumor characteristics differ between tumors suitable or unsuitable for generating GE profiles in breast cancer. METHODS: In a consecutive cohort of 738 breast cancer patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, GE profiling was performed. We compared tumor characteristics and treatment outcome between patients included and excluded from GE profiling. Results were validated in an independent cohort of 812 patients treated with primary surgery. RESULTS: GE analysis could be performed in 53% of the samples. Patients with tumor GE profiles more often had high-grade tumors [odds ratio 2.57 (95%CI 1.77-3.72), p < 0.001] and were more often lymph node positive [odds ratio 1.50 (95%CI 1.03-2.19), p = 0.035] compared to the group for which GE profiling was not possible. In the validation cohort, tumors suitable for gene expression analysis were more often high grade. CONCLUSIONS: In our gene expression studies, tumors suitable for GE profiling had more often an unfavorable prognostic profile. Due to selection of samples with a high tumor percentage, we automatically select for tumors with specific features, i.e., tumors with a higher grade and lymph node involvement. It is important to be aware of this phenomenon when performing gene expression analysis in a research or clinical context.

The distribution of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) grade in 4232 women and its impact on overdiagnosis in breast cancer screening.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) has rapidly increased over time. The malignant potential of DCIS is dependent on its differentiation grade. METHODS: Our aim is to determine the distribution of different grades of DCIS among women screened in the mass screening programme, and women not screened in the mass screening programme, and to estimate the amount of overdiagnosis by grade of DCIS. We retrospectively included a population-based sample of 4232 women with a diagnosis of DCIS in the years 2007-2009 from the Nationwide network and registry of histopathology and cytopathology in the Netherlands. Excluded were women with concurrent invasive breast cancer, lobular carcinoma in situ and no DCIS, women recently treated for invasive breast cancer, no grade mentioned in the record, inconclusive record on invasion, and prevalent DCIS. The screening status was obtained via the screening organisations. The distribution of grades was incorporated in the well-established and validated microsimulation model MISCAN. RESULTS: Overall, 17.7 % of DCIS were low grade, 31.4 % intermediate grade, and 50.9 % high grade. This distribution did not differ by screening status, but did vary by age. Older women were more likely to have low-grade DCIS than younger women. Overdiagnosis as a proportion of all cancers in women of the screening age was 61 % for low-grade, 57 % for intermediate-grade, 45 % for high-grade DCIS. For women age 50-60 years with a high-grade DCIS this overdiagnosis rate was 21-29 %, compared to 50-66 % in women age 60-75 years with high-grade DCIS. CONCLUSIONS: Amongst the rapidly increasing numbers of DCIS diagnosed each year is a significant number of overdiagnosed cases. Tailoring treatment to the probability of progression is the next step to preventing overtreatment. The basis of this tailoring could be DCIS grade and age.

Very low local recurrence rates after breast-conserving therapy: analysis of 8485 patients treated over a 28-year period.

The purpose of this study was to study the impact of changes in clinical practice on outcome in patients treated with breast-conserving therapy (BCT) over a period of 28 years. Patients with early invasive breast cancer, who were treated with BCT at the Netherlands Cancer Institute between 1980 and 2008, were studied. Clinical characteristics, treatment and outcome were compared between groups (1980-1987; 1988-1998; 1999-2008). The main endpoint analyzed was ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR). 8485 patients with a median follow-up of 9 years (IQR 6-14 years) were analyzed. The cumulative 5- and 10-year IBTR incidences were, respectively, 2 and 5 % for the whole cohort and 4 and 9 % in patients ≤40 years. Young age was a significant risk factor for IBTR in multivariable analysis. IBTR-free interval was better for patients who received a RT boost (HR 0.65) or systemic therapy (HR 0.52). In later years, patients less often received a boost and more often underwent adjuvant systemic treatment. 761 patients (9.0 %) underwent a re-excision; the tumor resection margins were tumor free for 85 %. In later years (1999-2008), 89 % of patients had a tumor-free margin. The margin status of invasive carcinoma did not influence IBTR, DM rate, or OS. Between 1980 and 2008, locoregional control after BCT remained stable with low IBTR rates, even in young patients. These good results were achieved under the policy of accepting close or focally positive margins, indicating this is a safe approach. The results of this study may help in lowering the re-excision rates, which are high in many centers.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy can be omitted in DCIS patients treated with breast conserving therapy.

Breast cancer guidelines advise sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) on core biopsy at high risk of invasive cancer or in case of mastectomy. This study investigates the incidence of SLNB and SLN metastases and the relevance of indications in guidelines and literature to perform SLNB in order to validate whether SLNB is justified in patients with DCIS on core biopsy in current era. Clinically node negative patients diagnosed from 2004 to 2013 with only DCIS on core needle biopsy were selected from a national database. Incidence of SLN biopsy and metastases was calculated. With Fisher exact tests correlation between SLNB indications and actual presence of SLN metastases was studied. Further, underestimation rate for invasive cancer and correlation with SLN metastases was analysed. 910 patients were included. SLNB was performed in 471 patients (51.8 %): 94.5 % had pN0, 3.0 % pN1mi and 2.5 % pN1. Patients undergoing mastectomy had 7 % SLN metastases versus 3.5 % for breast conserving surgery (BCS) (p = 0.107). The only factors correlating to SLN metastases were smaller core needle size (p = 0.01) and invasive cancer (p < 0.001). Invasive cancer was detected in 16.7 % by histopathology with 15.6 % SLN metastases versus only 2 % in pure DCIS. SLNB showed metastases in 5.5 % of patients; 3.5 % in case of BCS (any histopathology) and 2 % when pure DCIS was found at definitive histopathology (BCS and mastectomy). Consequently, SLNB should no longer be performed in patients diagnosed with DCIS on core biopsy undergoing BCS. If definitive histopathology shows invasive cancer, SLNB can still be considered after initial surgery.

Defining hip pain trajectories in early symptomatic hip osteoarthritis--5 year results from a nationwide prospective cohort study (CHECK).

OBJECTIVE: To define distinct hip pain trajectories in individuals with early symptomatic hip osteoarthritis (OA) and to determine risk factors for these pain trajectories. METHOD: Data were obtained from the nationwide prospective Cohort Hip and Cohort Knee (CHECK) study. Participants with hip pain or stiffness and a completed 5-year follow-up were included. Baseline demographic, anamnestic, physical examination characteristics were assessed. Outcome was annually assessed by the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for pain. Pain trajectories were retrieved by latent class growth analysis (LCGA). Multinomial logistic regression was used to calculate risk ratios. RESULTS: 545 participants were included. Four distinct pain trajectories were uncovered by LCGA. We found significant differences in baseline characteristics, including body mass index (BMI); symptom severity; pain coping strategies and in criteria for clinical hip OA (American College of Rheumatology (ACR)). Lower education, higher activity limitation scores, frequent use of pain transformation as coping strategy and painful internal hip rotation were more often associated with trajectories characterized by more severe pain. No association was found for baseline radiographic features. CONCLUSION: We defined four distinct pain trajectories over 5 years follow-up in individuals with early symptomatic hip OA, suggesting there are differences in symptomatic progression of hip OA. Baseline radiographic severity was not associated with the pain trajectories. Future research should be aimed at measuring symptomatic progression of hip OA with even more frequent symptom assessment.

Fat/water ratios measured with diffuse reflectance spectroscopy to detect breast tumor boundaries.

Recognition of the tumor during breast-conserving surgery (BCS) can be very difficult and currently a robust method of margin assessment for the surgical setting is not available. As a result, tumor-positive margins, which require additional treatment, are not found until histopathologic evaluation. With diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), tissue can be characterized during surgery based on optical parameters that are related to the tissue morphology and composition. Here we investigate which optical parameters are able to detect tumor in an area with a mixture of benign and tumor tissue and hence which parameters are most suitable for intra-operative margin assessment. DRS spectra (400-1600 nm) were obtained from 16 ex vivo lumpectomy specimens from benign, tumor border, and tumor tissue. One mastectomy specimen was used with a custom-made grid for validation purposes. The optical parameter related to the absorption of fat and water (F/W-ratio) in the extended near-infrared wavelength region (~1000-1600 nm) provided the best discrimination between benign and tumor sites resulting in a sensitivity and specificity of 100 % (excluding the border sites). Per patient, the scaled F/W-ratio gradually decreased from grossly benign tissue towards the tumor in 87.5 % of the specimens. In one test case, based on a predefined F/W-ratio for boundary tissue of 0.58, DRS produced a surgical resection plane that nearly overlapped with a 2-mm rim of benign tissue, 2 mm being the most widely accepted definition of a negative margin. The F/W-ratio provided excellent discrimination between sites clearly inside or outside the tumor and was able to detect the border of the tumor in one test case. This work shows the potential for DRS to guide the surgeon during BCS.

The prognostic value of the neoadjuvant response index in triple-negative breast cancer: validation and comparison with pathological complete response as outcome measure.

The Neoadjuvant response index (NRI) has been proposed as a simple measure of downstaging by neoadjuvant treatment in breast cancer. It was previously found to predict recurrence-free survival (RFS) in triple-negative (TN) breast cancer. It was at least as accurate as the standard binary system, the absence or presence of a pathological complete remission (pCR), which is the commonly employed outcome measure. The NRI was evaluated in an independent consecutive series of patients to validate the previous findings. Univariable and multivariable analyses were done to assess the predictive value of clinical parameters and of the NRI for RFS. We combined the original and validation series of patients to build a multivariable predictive model for RFS after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in TN breast cancer. The validation set (N = 108) confirmed that patients with a higher-than-median NRI (>0.7) had excellent RFS (P = 0.002), similar to that of patients who had achieved a pCR. Multivariable analysis in 191 patients showed that the NRI was a strong independent predictor of RFS (P = 0.0002), with N-stage (P = 0.001) and T-stage (P = 0.014) ranking second and third, respectively. Importantly, among patients who did not achieve a pCR (NRI values below 1), higher NRI values were still associated with better RFS. The NRI is a simple method and a practical tool to predict RFS in TN breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. It adds prognostic information to the presence or absence of pCR and could be useful to compare the efficacies of different chemotherapy regimens.

Quality assessment of estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor testing in breast cancer using a tissue microarray-based approach.

Assessing hormone receptor status is an essential part of the breast cancer diagnosis, as this biomarker greatly predicts response to hormonal treatment strategies. As such, hormone receptor testing laboratories are strongly encouraged to participate in external quality control schemes to achieve optimization of their immunohistochemical assays. Nine Dutch pathology departments provided tissue blocks containing invasive breast cancers which were all previously tested for estrogen receptor and/or progesterone receptor expression during routine practice. From these tissue blocks, tissue microarrays were constructed and tested for hormone receptor expression. When a discordant result was found between the local and TMA result, the original testing slide was revised and staining was repeated on a whole-tissue block. Sensitivity and specificity of individual laboratories for testing estrogen receptor expression were high, with an overall sensitivity and specificity [corrected] of 99.7 and 95.4%, respectively. Overall sensitivity and specificity of progesterone receptor testing were 94.8 and 92.6%, respectively. Out of 96 discordant cases, 36 cases would have been concordant if the recommended cut-off value of 1% instead of 10% was followed. Overall sensitivity and specificity of estrogen and progesterone receptor testing were high among participating laboratories. Continued enrollment of laboratories into quality control schemes is essential for achieving and maintaining the highest standard of care for breast cancer patients.

Regulation of TRAIL receptor expression by ß-catenin in colorectal tumours.

Tumour-necrosis-factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is being investigated as a targeted cancer therapeutic and the expression of its pro-apoptotic receptors, DR4 and DR5, increases during colorectal carcinogenesis. This study investigated the role of ß-catenin in the regulation of these receptors. In human colorectal adenoma and carcinoma cell lines, downregulation of ß-catenin resulted in lower total DR4 and DR5 protein levels. Similarly, cell membrane expression of DR4 and DR5 was reduced after downregulation of ß-catenin in colon carcinoma cells, whereas induction of ß-catenin in HeLa cells led to increased cell membrane expression of DR4 and DR5. Downregulation of ß-catenin decreased the recombinant human TRAIL sensitivity of human colon carcinoma cells. Activation of the transcription factor T-cell factor-4 (TCF-4) is an important function of ß-catenin. Dominant-negative TCF-4 overexpression, however, did not significantly affect TRAIL receptor expression or recombinant human TRAIL sensitivity. Human colorectal adenomas (N = 158) with aberrant (cytoplasmic and nuclear) ß-catenin expression had a higher percentage of immunohistochemical DR4 and DR5 staining per tumour (mean: 73 and 88%, respectively) than those with membranous ß-catenin staining only (mean: 50 and 70%, respectively, P < 0.01 for both). Furthermore, aberrant ß-catenin staining co-localized with DR4 and DR5 expression in 92% of adenomas. In 53 human colorectal carcinomas, aberrant ß-catenin expression was present in most cases and DR4/5 expression was largely homogenous. Similarly, in adenomas from APC(min) mice, cytoplasmic ß-catenin staining co-localized with staining for the murine TRAIL death receptor. In conclusion, the gradual increase in TRAIL receptor expression during colorectal carcinogenesis is at least partially mediated through increased ß-catenin expression, independently of TCF-4-signalling.

Gene expression profiling to predict the risk of locoregional recurrence in breast cancer: a pooled analysis.

The 70-gene signature (MammaPrint) has been developed to predict the risk of distant metastases in breast cancer and select those patients who may benefit from adjuvant treatment. Given the strong association between locoregional and distant recurrence, we hypothesize that the 70-gene signature will also be able to predict the risk of locoregional recurrence (LRR). 1,053 breast cancer patients primarily treated with breast-conserving treatment or mastectomy at the Netherlands Cancer Institute between 1984 and 2006 were included. Adjuvant treatment consisted of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and/or endocrine therapy as indicated by guidelines used at the time. All patients were included in various 70-gene signature validation studies. After a median follow-up of 8.96 years with 87 LRRs, patients with a high-risk 70-gene signature (n = 492) had an LRR risk of 12.6% (95% CI 9.7-15.8) at 10 years, compared to 6.1% (95% CI 4.1-8.5) for low-risk patients (n = 561; P < 0.001). Adjusting the 70-gene signature in a competing risk model for the clinicopathological factors such as age, tumour size, grade, hormone receptor status, LVI, axillary lymph node involvement, surgical treatment, endocrine treatment, and chemotherapy resulted in a multivariable HR of 1.73 (95% CI 1.02-2.93; P = 0.042). Adding the signature to the model based on clinicopathological factors improved the discrimination, albeit non-significantly [C-index through 10 years changed from 0.731 (95% CI 0.682-0.782) to 0.741 (95% CI 0.693-0.790)]. Calibration of the prognostic models was excellent. The 70-gene signature is an independent prognostic factor for LRR. A significantly lower local recurrence risk was seen in patients with a low-risk 70-gene signature compared to those with high-risk 70-gene signature.

Optimized outcome prediction in breast cancer by combining the 70-gene signature with clinical risk prediction algorithms.

Clinical guidelines for breast cancer treatment differ in their selection of patients at a high risk of recurrence who are eligible to receive adjuvant systemic treatment (AST). The 70-gene signature is a molecular tool to better guide AST decisions. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether adding the 70-gene signature to clinical risk prediction algorithms can optimize outcome prediction and consequently treatment decisions in early stage, node-negative breast cancer patients. A 70-gene signature was available for 427 patients participating in the RASTER study (cT1-3N0M0). Median follow-up was 61.6 months. Based on 5-year distant-recurrence free interval (DRFI) probabilities survival areas under the curve (AUC) were calculated and compared for risk estimations based on the six clinical risk prediction algorithms: Adjuvant! Online (AOL), Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI), St. Gallen (2003), the Dutch National guidelines (CBO 2004 and NABON 2012), and PREDICT plus. Also, survival AUC were calculated after adding the 70-gene signature to these clinical risk estimations. Systemically untreated patients with a high clinical risk estimation but a low risk 70-gene signature had an excellent 5-year DRFI varying between 97.1 and 100 %, depending on the clinical risk prediction algorithms used in the comparison. The best risk estimation was obtained in this cohort by adding the 70-gene signature to CBO 2012 (AUC: 0.644) and PREDICT (AUC: 0.662). Clinical risk estimations by all clinical algorithms improved by adding the 70-gene signature. Patients with a low risk 70-gene signature have an excellent survival, independent of their clinical risk estimation. Adding the 70-gene signature to clinical risk prediction algorithms improves risk estimations and therefore might improve the identification of early stage node-negative breast cancer patients for whom AST has limited value. In this cohort, the PREDICT plus tool in combination with the 70-gene signature provided the best risk prediction.

Pathological non-response to chemotherapy in a neoadjuvant setting of breast cancer: an inter-institutional study.

To identify markers of non-response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) that could be used in the adjuvant setting. Sixteen pathologists of the European Working Group for Breast Screening Pathology reviewed the core biopsies of breast cancers treated with NAC and recorded the clinico-pathological findings (histological type and grade; estrogen, progesterone receptors, and HER2 status; Ki67; mitotic count; tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes; necrosis) and data regarding the pathological response in corresponding surgical resection specimens. Analyses were carried out in a cohort of 490 cases by comparing the groups of patients showing pathological complete response (pCR) and partial response (pPR) with the group of non-responders (pathological non-response: pNR). Among other parameters, the lobular histotype and the absence of inflammation were significantly more common in pNR (p < 0.001). By ROC curve analyses, cut-off values of 9 mitosis/2 mm(2) and 18% of Ki67-positive cells best discriminated the pNR and pCR + pPR categories (p = 0.018 and < 0.001, respectively). By multivariable analysis, only the cut-off value of 9 mitosis discriminated the different response categories (p = 0.036) in the entire cohort. In the Luminal B/HER2- subgroup, a mitotic count <9, although not statistically significant, showed an OR of 2.7 of pNR. A lobular histotype and the absence of inflammation were independent predictors of pNR (p = 0.024 and <0.001, respectively). Classical morphological parameters, such as lobular histotype and inflammation, confirmed their predictive value in response to NAC, particularly in the Luminal B/HER2- subgroup, which is a challenging breast cancer subtype from a therapeutic point of view. Mitotic count could represent an additional marker but has a poor positive predictive value.

DCIS knowledge of women choosing between active surveillance and surgery for low-risk DCIS.

BACKGROUND: Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) can progress to invasive breast cancer (IBC), but often never will. As we cannot predict accurately which DCIS-lesions will or will not progress to IBC, almost all women with DCIS undergo breast-conserving surgery supplemented with radiotherapy, or even mastectomy. In some countries, endocrine treatment is prescribed as well. This implies many women with non-progressive DCIS undergo overtreatment. To reduce this, the LORD patient preference trial (LORD-PPT) tests whether mammographic active surveillance (AS) is safe by giving women with low-risk DCIS a choice between treatment and AS. For this, sufficient knowledge about DCIS is crucial. Therefore, we assessed women's DCIS knowledge in association with socio-demographic and clinical characteristics. METHODS: LORD-PPT participants (N = 376) completed a questionnaire assessing socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, risk perception, treatment choice and DCIS knowledge after being informed about their diagnosis and treatment options. RESULTS: 66 % of participants had poor knowledge (i.e., answered ≤3 out of 7 knowledge items correctly). Most incorrect answers involved overestimating the safety of AS and misunderstanding of DCIS prognostic risks. Overall, women with higher DCIS knowledge score perceived their risk of developing IBC as being somewhat higher than women with poorer knowledge (p = 0.049). Women with better DCIS knowledge more often chose surgery whilst most women with poorer knowledge chose active surveillance (p = 0.049). DISCUSSION: Our findings show that there is room for improvement of information provision to patients. Decision support tools for patients and clinicians could help to stimulate effective shared decision-making about DCIS management.

Prognostic value of histopathologic traits independent of stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte levels in chemotherapy-naïve patients with triple-negative breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: In the absence of prognostic biomarkers, most patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (eTNBC) are treated with combination chemotherapy. The identification of biomarkers to select patients for whom treatment de-escalation or escalation could be considered remains an unmet need. We evaluated the prognostic value of histopathologic traits in a unique cohort of young, (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy-naïve patients with early-stage (stage I or II), node-negative TNBC and long-term follow-up, in relation to stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) for which the prognostic value was recently reported. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied all 485 patients with node-negative eTNBC from the population-based PARADIGM cohort which selected women aged <40 years diagnosed between 1989 and 2000. None of the patients had received (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy according to standard practice at the time. Associations between histopathologic traits and breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) were analyzed with Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: With a median follow-up of 20.0 years, an independent prognostic value for BCSS was observed for lymphovascular invasion (LVI) [adjusted (adj.) hazard ratio (HR) 2.35, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.49-3.69], fibrotic focus (adj. HR 1.61, 95% CI 1.09-2.37) and sTILs (per 10% increment adj. HR 0.75, 95% CI 0.69-0.82). In the sTILs <30% subgroup, the presence of LVI resulted in a higher cumulative incidence of breast cancer death (at 20 years, 58%; 95% CI 41% to 72%) compared with when LVI was absent (at 20 years, 32%; 95% CI 26% to 39%). In the ≥75% sTILs subgroup, the presence of LVI might be associated with poor survival (HR 11.45, 95% CI 0.71-182.36, two deaths). We confirm the lack of prognostic value of androgen receptor expression and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 -low status. CONCLUSIONS: sTILs, LVI and fibrotic focus provide independent prognostic information in young women with node-negative eTNBC. Our results are of importance for the selection of patients for de-escalation and escalation trials.

A prospective evaluation of a breast cancer prognosis signature in the observational RASTER study.

The 70-gene signature (MammaPrint™) has been developed on retrospective series of breast cancer patients to predict the risk of breast cancer distant metastases. The microarRAy-prognoSTics-in-breast-cancER (RASTER) study was the first study designed to prospectively evaluate the performance of the 70-gene signature, which result was available for 427 patients (cT1-3N0M0). Adjuvant systemic treatment decisions were based on the Dutch CBO 2004 guidelines, the 70-gene signature and doctors' and patients' preferences. Five-year distant-recurrence-free-interval (DRFI) probabilities were compared between subgroups based on the 70-gene signature and Adjuvant! Online (AOL) (10-year survival probability <90% was defined as high-risk). Median follow-up was 61.6 months. Fifteen percent (33/219) of the 70-gene signature low-risk patients received adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) versus 81% (169/208) of the 70-gene signature high-risk patients. The 5-year DRFI probabilities for 70-gene signature low-risk (n = 219) and high-risk (n = 208) patients were 97.0% and 91.7%. The 5-year DRFI probabilities for AOL low-risk (n = 132) and high-risk (n = 295) patients were 96.7% and 93.4%. For 70-gene signature low-risk-AOL high-risk patients (n = 124), of whom 76% (n = 94) had not received ACT, 5-year DRFI was 98.4%. In the AOL high-risk group, 32% (94/295) less patients would be eligible to receive ACT if the 70-gene signature was used. In this prospective community-based observational study, the 5-year DRFI probabilities confirmed the additional prognostic value of the 70-gene signature to clinicopathological risk estimations such as AOL. Omission of adjuvant chemotherapy as judged appropriate by doctors and patients and instigated by a low-risk 70-gene signature result, appeared not to compromise outcome.

Triple-negative breast cancer: BRCAness and concordance of clinical features with BRCA1-mutation carriers.

BACKGROUND: BRCAness is defined as shared tumour characteristics between sporadic and BRCA-mutated cancers. However, how to exactly measure BRCAness and its frequency in breast cancer is not known. Assays to establish BRCAness would be extremely valuable for the clinical management of these tumours. We assessed BRCAness characteristics frequencies in a large cohort of triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs). METHODS: As a measure of BRCAness, we determined a specific BRCA1-like pattern by array Comparative Genomic Hybridisation (aCGH), and BRCA1 promoter methylation in 377 TNBCs, obtained from 3 different patient cohorts. Clinicopathological data were available for all tumours, BRCA1-germline mutation status and chemotherapy response data were available for a subset. RESULTS: Of the tumours, 66-69% had a BRCA1-like aCGH profile and 27-37% showed BRCA1 promoter methylation. BRCA1-germline mutations and BRCA1 promoter methylation were mutually exclusive events (P=1 × 10(-5)). BRCAness was associated with younger age and grade 3 tumours. Chemotherapy response was significantly higher in BRCA1-mutated tumours, but not in tumours with BRCAness (63% (12 out of 19) vs 35% (18 out of 52) pathological complete remission rate, respectively). CONCLUSION: The majority of the TNBCs show BRCAness, and those tumours share clinicopathological characteristics with BRCA1-mutated tumours. A better characterisation of TNBC and the presence of BRCAness could have consequences for both hereditary breast cancer screening and the treatment of these tumours.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy adaptation and serial MRI response monitoring in ER-positive HER2-negative breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Changing the neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen in insufficiently responding breast cancer is not a standard policy. We analysed a series of patients with 'luminal'-type breast cancer in whom the second half of neoadjuvant chemotherapy was selected based on the response to the first half. METHODS: Patients with oestrogen receptor-positive (ER+) human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) breast cancer received three courses of neoadjuvant dose-dense doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (ddAC). Three further courses of ddAC were administered in case of a 'favourable response' on the interim magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a switch to docetaxel and capecitabine (DC) was made in case of an 'unfavourable response', using previously published response criteria. The efficacy of this approach was evaluated by tumour size reductions on serial contrast-enhanced MRI, pathologic response and relapse-free survival. RESULTS: Two hundred and forty-six patients received three courses of ddAC. One hundred and sixty-four patients (67%) had a favourable response at the interim MRI, with a mean tumour size reduction of 31% after the first three courses and 34% after the second three courses. Patients with unfavourable responsive tumours had a mean tumour size reduction of 12% after three courses and received three courses of DC rather than ddAC. This led to a mean shrinkage of 27%. CONCLUSION: The tumour size reduction of initially less responsive tumours after treatment adaptation adds further evidence that a response-adapted strategy may enhance the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy.