Changes in vitamin D and calcium metabolism markers in patients undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Changes in calcium metabolism and calcium urinary excretion during chemotherapy have not been thoroughly assessed in patients with early breast cancer (EBC), a population who frequently present vitamin D insufficiency. As hypercalciuria is a classical contra-indication to vitamin D (VD) supplementation, this study evaluated changes in VD and calcium metabolism parameters in patients with EBC undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy (CT). METHODS: In patients with EBC who received six cycles of adjuvant CT, VD and calcium parameters were monitored at inclusion, and then every 3 weeks, at each CT cycle initiation. The primary endpoint was the percentage of patients showing hypercalciuria during adjuvant CT (between Day 1, Cycle 1 [D1C1] and Day 1, Cycle 6 [D1C6]). RESULTS: The primary endpoint could be evaluated in 82 patients. Most patients (n = 66, 80.5%) had VD insufficiency (< 30 ng/mL) at baseline. Hypercalciuria was detected in 29 patients (35.4%; 95% CI: 25.6-46.5) between D1C1 and D1C6, but was not clinically significant in any of the affected patients. The percentage of hypercalciuria events was not different between patients with sufficient and insufficient baseline VD levels (34.8% vs. 37.5%), and between patients who received or not VD supplementation (37.5% vs. 34.5%,). CONCLUSIONS: This comprehensive study on VD and calcium parameter changes in patients with EBC during adjuvant chemotherapy shows that hypercalciuria is a frequent abnormality in this setting, although asymptomatic. Therefore, it should not be considered as a limitation for high dose VD supplementation in this population. TRIAL REGISTRATION: EudraCT:2014-A01454-43 . Registered 29 august 2016.

VEGF-Related Germinal Polymorphisms May Identify a Subgroup of Breast Cancer Patients with Favorable Outcome under Bevacizumab-Based Therapy-A Message from COMET, a French Unicancer Multicentric Study.

The prospective multicenter COMET trial followed a cohort of 306 consecutive metastatic breast cancer patients receiving bevacizumab and paclitaxel as first-line chemotherapy. This study was intended to identify and validate reliable biomarkers to better predict bevacizumab treatment outcomes and allow for a more personalized use of this antiangiogenic agent. To that end, we aimed to establish risk scores for survival prognosis dichotomization based on classic clinico-pathological criteria combined or not with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The genomic DNA of 306 patients was extracted and a panel of 13 SNPs, covering seven genes previously documented to be potentially involved in drug response, were analyzed by means of high-throughput genotyping. In receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses, the hazard model based on a triple-negative cancer phenotype variable, combined with specific SNPs in VEGFA (rs833061), VEGFR1 (rs9582036) and VEGFR2 (rs1870377), had the highest predictive value. The overall survival hazard ratio of patients assigned to the poor prognosis group based on this model was 3.21 (95% CI (2.33-4.42); p < 0.001). We propose that combining this pharmacogenetic approach with classical clinico-pathological characteristics could markedly improve clinical decision-making for breast cancer patients receiving bevacizumab-based therapy.

Brief Hospital Supervision of Exercise and Diet During Adjuvant Breast Cancer Therapy Is Not Enough to Relieve Fatigue: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

Supervised exercise dietary programs are recommended to relieve cancer-related fatigue and weight increase induced by adjuvant treatment of early breast cancer (EBC). As this recommendation lacks a high level of evidence, we designed a multicenter randomized trial to evaluate the impact of an Adapted Physical Activity Diet (APAD) education program on fatigue. We randomized 360 women with EBC who were receiving adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy to APAD or usual care at eight French cancer institutions. Data were collected at baseline, end of chemotherapy, end of radiotherapy, and 6 months post-treatment. The primary endpoint was the general cancer-related fatigue score using the MFI-20 questionnaire. Fatigue correlated with the level of precariousness, but we found no significant difference between the two groups in terms of general fatigue (p = 0.274). The APAD arm has a smaller proportion of patients with confirmed depression at the end of follow-up (p = 0.052). A transient modification in physical activity levels and dietary intake was reported in the experimental arm. However, a mixed hospital- and home-based APAD education program is not enough to improve fatigue caused by adjuvant treatment of EBC. Cancer care centers should consider integrating more proactive diet-exercise supportive care in this population, focusing on precarious patients.

Analysis of the StoRM cohort reveals physical activity to be associated with survival in metastatic breast cancer.

Benefits of physical activity are widely demonstrated for early stage cancers but few studies have focused on metastatic disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of physical activity on survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer. We conducted a secondary analysis of the national, multicentric, non-randomized, prospective cohort SNPs to Risk of Metastasis (StoRM) study. The level of physical activity was self-reported at inclusion and divided into three categories of physical activity: light level, moderate level, and vigorous level. Overall, 833 patients (56.2%) completed the physical activity questionnaire at baseline on average physical activity during the previous year: 11.6% had a light level of physical activity, 69.0% achieved moderate levels of physical activity and 19.3% reported vigorous levels of physical activity. After adjustment for confounding, physical activity was not statistically significantly associated with overall survival in the whole population. Subgroup analysis identified that both vigorous and moderate physical activity were associated with statistically significantly improved overall survival compared to light physical activity level only in the HER2 positive subgroup (HR 0.23; 95% CI 0.07-0.70, p = 0.01 and HR 0.38; 95% CI 0.15-0.96, p = 0.04). Physical activity done during the previous year was associated with survival in HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer patients. These results suggest that overall survival in metastatic breast cancer patients could be improved through physical activity which should be considered as a complementary intervention for these individuals. The study showed that moderate/vigorous levels of physical activity were associated with better overall survival, and that these associations remained statistically significant in multivariate analysis in the HER2 positive subgroup. These results have clinical relevance and justify the recommendations for physical activity interventions in metastatic breast cancer.

PIK3CA mutations early persistence in cell-free tumor DNA as a negative prognostic factor in metastatic breast cancer patients treated with hormonal therapy.

PURPOSE: The identification of biomarkers of hormonal therapy (HT) failure would allow tailored monitoring in metastatic breast cancer (mBC) patients. PIK3CA gene mutation is one of the most frequent events in mBC and is associated with HT resistance. We evaluated the early prognostic value of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) PIK3CA detection in first-line HT-treated mBC patients. METHODS: Between June 2012 and January 2014, 39 patients were prospectively included in a dedicated clinical trial (NCT01612871). Blood sampling was performed before (M0) and 4 weeks (M1), 3 months (M3) and 6 months (M6) after HT initiation, and at tumor progression. Patients were followed until progression or until the end of the study (2 years). Mutation detection was performed using droplet-based digital PCR (ddPCR). Progression-free survival (PFS) was used as primary endpoint. RESULTS: Median age at inclusion was 63 years (range 40-86). Most patients (34/39) received an aromatase inhibitor and presented a non-measurable disease (71.8%). PIK3CA mutations were reported in 10 (27.8%) and 5 (14.3%) cases at M0 and M1, respectively. The persistence of a detectable circulating mutation at M1 was highly correlated with a worse progression-free survival (PFS), rate at 1 year: 40% versus 76.7%; p = 0.0053). CONCLUSIONS: Four-week persistence of cfDNA PIK3CA mutation appears highly correlated with PFS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01612871, registered on June 6th, 2012; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01612871 .

Short- and long-term impact of adapted physical activity and diet counseling during adjuvant breast cancer therapy: the "APAD1" randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy experience fatigue and other treatment side effects. Integrative therapies combining physical activity and dietary counseling are recommended; however to date no large randomized controlled trial has been conducted during adjuvant therapy. The Adapted Physical Activity and Diet (APAD) intervention was evaluated for its ability to decrease fatigue (primary outcome), anxiety, depression, body mass index (BMI), and fat mass, and enhance muscular and cognitive performances, and quality-of-life (QoL). METHODS: Women diagnosed with early breast cancer (N = 143, mean age = 52 ± 10 years) were randomized to APAD or usual care (UC). APAD included thrice-weekly moderate-intensity mixed aerobic and resistance exercise sessions and 9 dietetic consultations. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and anthropometric, muscular, and cognitive variables were measured at baseline, 18 weeks (end of chemotherapy), and 26 weeks (end of radiotherapy and intervention), and at 6- and 12-month post-intervention follow-ups. Multi-adjusted linear mixed-effects models were used to compare groups over time. RESULTS: Significant beneficial effects of the APAD intervention were observed on all PROs (i.e., fatigue, QoL, anxiety, depression) at 18 and 26 weeks. The significant effect on fatigue and QoL persisted up to 12-month follow-up. Significant decreases in BMI, fat mass, and increased muscle endurance and cognitive flexibility were observed at 26 weeks, but did not persist afterward. Leisure physical activity was enhanced in the APAD group vs UC group at 18 and 26 weeks. No significant effect of the intervention was found on major macronutrients intake. CONCLUSIONS: A combined diet and exercise intervention during chemotherapy and radiotherapy in patients with early breast cancer led to positive changes in a range of psychological, physiological and behavioral outcomes at the end of intervention. A beneficial effect persisted on fatigue and QoL at long term, i.e., 1 year post-intervention. Diet-exercise supportive care should be integrated into the management of early breast cancer patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The APAD study was prospectively registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01495650; date of registration: December 20, 2011).

6 months versus 12 months of adjuvant trastuzumab in early breast cancer (PHARE): final analysis of a multicentre, open-label, phase 3 randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: In 2013, the interim analysis of the Protocol for Herceptin as Adjuvant therapy with Reduced Exposure (PHARE) trial could not show that 6 months of adjuvant trastuzumab was non-inferior to 12 months. Here, we report the planned final analysis based on the prespecified number of occurring events. METHODS: PHARE is an open-label, phase 3, non-inferiority randomised trial of patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer comparing 6 months versus 12 months of trastuzumab treatment concomitant with or following standard neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy. The study was undertaken in 156 centres in France. Eligible patients were women aged 18 years or older with non-metastatic, operable, histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the breast and either positive axillary nodes or negative axillary nodes but a tumour of at least 10 mm. Participants must have received at least four cycles of a chemotherapy for this breast cancer and have started receiving adjuvant trastuzumab-treatment. Eligible patients were randomly assigned to either 6 months or 12 months of trastuzumab therapy duration between the third and sixth months of adjuvant trastuzumab. The randomisation was stratified by concomitant or sequential treatment with chemotherapy, oestrogen receptor status, and centre. The primary objective was non-inferiority in the intention-to-treat population in the 6-month group in terms of disease-free survival with a prespecified hazard margin of 1·15. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00381901. FINDINGS: 3384 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to either 12 months (n=1691) or 6 months (n=1693) of adjuvant trastuzumab. One patient in the 12-month group and three patients in the 6-month group were excluded, so 1690 patients in each group were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. At a median follow-up of 7·5 years (IQR 5·3-8·8), 704 events relevant to disease-free survival were observed (345 [20·4%] in the 12-month group and 359 [21·2%] in the 6-month group). The adjusted hazard ratio for disease-free survival in the 12-month group versus the 6-month group was 1·08 (95% CI 0·93-1·25; p=0·39). The non-inferiority margin was included in the 95% CI. No differences in effects pertaining to trastuzumab duration were found in any of the subgroups. After the completion of trastuzumab treatment, rare adverse events occurred over time and the safety analysis remained similar to the previously published report. In particular, we found no change in the cardiac safety comparison, and only three additional cases in which the left ventricular ejection fraction decreased to less than 50% have been reported in the 12-month group. INTERPRETATION: The PHARE study did not show the non-inferiority of 6 months versus 12 months of adjuvant trastuzumab. Hence, adjuvant trastuzumab standard duration should remain 12 months. FUNDING: The French National Cancer Institute.

Author Correction: Landscape of somatic mutations in 560 breast cancer whole-genome sequences.

In the Methods section of this Article, 'greater than' should have been 'less than' in the sentence 'Putative regions of clustered rearrangements were identified as having an average inter-rearrangement distance that was at least 10 times greater than the whole-genome average for the individual sample. '. The Article has not been corrected.

Prognostic value of androgen receptor and FOXA1 co-expression in non-metastatic triple negative breast cancer and correlation with other biomarkers.

BACKGROUND: In luminal androgen receptor (AR) tumours, FOXA1 may direct AR to sites occupied by ER in luminal tumours, thus stimulating proliferation. METHODS: AR and FOXA1 expression were evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 333 non-metastatic triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC). Positivity threshold was set at ≥ 1% staining. Lymphocytic infiltration, PD-L1expression, PIK3CA mutations, PTEN defects and BRCA1 promoter methylation were assessed. RESULTS: AR + /FOXA1 + tumours (42.4%) were more frequently: found in older patients, lobular, of lower nuclear grade, with more frequently PIK3CA mutations; exhibited less frequently BRCA1 promoter methylation, defects of PTEN and PD-L1 expression than others. Recurrence-free and overall survivals were significantly lower for AR + /FOXA1 + TNBC (median follow-up: 7.8 years). CONCLUSIONS: AR + /FOXA1 + expression defines a luminal-like TNBC subgroup affected with a worse outcome compared to other TNBC and a higher risk of late recurrences. This subgroup appears enriched in PIK3CA mutations, suggesting a role for PI3K inhibitors in this subgroup.

Fluctuation of the left ventricular ejection fraction in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer treated by 12 months of adjuvant trastuzumab.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac toxicity with a decrease of the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is the main side effect induced by trastuzumab. This study reports the fluctuation of LVEF over the 12 months of adjuvant trastuzumab in PHARE trial (NCT00381901). METHODS: LVEF assessment was performed every 3 months while patients received trastuzumab and after completion of treatment over the first 2 years and then every 6 months afterwards. The fluctuations of LVEF over time were described and a logistic regression model was performed investigating associated factors to LVEF perfect recovery at baseline value. RESULTS: A total of 1631 patients who received 12 months of trastuzumab from PHARE trial, were considered in the analysis. A total of 13 881 LVEF measurements were assessed. Baseline mean LVEF was 66.08% (standard error (SE): 0.15) and the mean relative LVEF decrease observed at 12-month was 3.61% (SE: 0.31). No clinical characteristic was significantly associated to LVEF fluctuation. After completion of trastuzumab, the relative difference progressively disappeared with beyond 30 months a relative difference value of 0.08% (SE: 0.42). Nevertheless, at 30 months, 48.53% of patients with available measures (379/781) did not fully recover their baseline LVEF value. CONCLUSION: The LVEF decreased during treatment with trastuzumab and rose up after the completion of treatment without coming back to the initial values for a substantial subset. These results would suggest investigating some strategies aimed to improve the ability to achieve a full recovery.

Assessment of the prognostic role of a 94-single nucleotide polymorphisms risk score in early breast cancer in the SIGNAL/PHARE prospective cohort: no correlation with clinico-pathological characteristics and outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have to date identified 94 genetic variants (single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)) associated with risk of developing breast cancer. A score based on the combined effect of the 94 risk alleles can be calculated to measure the global risk of breast cancer. We aimed to test the hypothesis that the 94-SNP-based risk score is associated with clinico-pathological characteristics, breast cancer subtypes and outcomes in early breast cancer. METHODS: A 94-SNP risk score was calculated in 8703 patients in the PHARE and SIGNAL prospective case cohorts. This score is the total number of inherited risk alleles based on 94 selected SNPs. Clinical data and outcomes were prospectively registered. Genotyping was obtained from a GWAS. RESULTS: The median 94-SNP risk score in 8703 patients with early breast cancer was 77.5 (range: 58.1-97.6). The risk score was not associated with usual prognostic and predictive factors (age; tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) status; Scarff-Bloom-Richardson grade; inflammatory features; estrogen receptor status; progesterone receptor status; human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status) and did not correlate with breast cancer subtypes. The 94-SNP risk score did not predict outcomes represented by overall survival or disease-free survival. CONCLUSIONS: In a prospective case cohort of 8703 patients, a risk score based on 94 SNPs was not associated with breast cancer characteristics, cancer subtypes, or patients' outcomes. If we hypothesize that prognosis and subtypes of breast cancer are determined by constitutional genetic factors, our results suggest that a score based on breast cancer risk-associated SNPs is not associated with prognosis. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PHARE cohort: NCT00381901 , Sept. 26, 2006 - SIGNAL cohort: INCa RECF1098, Jan. 28, 2009.

Prognostic impact of the inclusion of uPA/PAI-1 for adjuvant treatment decision-making in ER+/Her2- pN0 early breast cancers.

PURPOSE: Intermediate-risk early breast cancer (EBC) is a heterogeneous group in which adjuvant chemotherapy decision proves to be difficult. Clinical and pathological criteria are sometimes insufficient to determine the best therapeutic options, and validated biomarkers such as uPA/PAI-1, are needed to contribute to the decision-making. The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcome of an unselected ER+/HER2- pN0 EBC cohort of patients in whom the routine clinical decision process included a prospective uPA/PAI-1 determination. METHOD: This monocentric retrospective study included 520 patients who underwent curative surgery in our institute between 2006 and 2011. Adjuvant therapeutic strategy was decided based on clinical-pathological data, altogether with a routine prospective determination of uPA/PAI-1 tumor levels using fresh, extemporaneously sampled tissue. We evaluated the correlation between uPA/PAI-1 levels, clinical-pathological variables, and the patient's outcome (relapse-free survival, RFS, and overall survival, OS). RESULT: Median follow-up was 5.4 years. The 5- and 10-year RFS rates were ,respectively, 95 and 89%, and the five-year OS rate was 96.3%. Forty percent of tumors had low uPA/PAI-1 levels. Seventy-five percent of patients with low uPA/PAI-1 levels did not receive chemotherapy, when 25% did. Sixty percent of patients with high uPA and/or PAI-1 levels received chemotherapy, while 40% did not. No statistical significant correlation was found between the uPA/PAI-1 levels and RFS or OS. CONCLUSION: The personalization of the patients' treatment using uPA/PAI-1 tumor levels allows the reversion of the well-known poor prognostic impact of high uPA/PAI-1 levels and strongly supports the use of this biomarker in clinical practice.

Superimposable outcomes for sequential and concomitant administration of adjuvant trastuzumab in HER2-positive breast cancer: Results from the SIGNAL/PHARE prospective cohort.

AIM: Adjuvant clinical trials in early human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer have assessed either sequential or concomitant incorporation of trastuzumab with chemotherapy; only the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG)-N9831 trial prospectively compared both modalities. In routine trastuzumab has been incorporated into a concurrent regimen with taxane chemotherapy instead of sequential modality on the basis of a positive risk-benefit ratio. This present study assessed sequential versus concomitant administration of adjuvant trastuzumab. METHODS: A population combining patients from Protocol for Herceptin® as Adjuvant therapy with Reduced Exposure (PHARE) a randomised phase III clinical trial (NCT00381901) and SIGNAL (RECF1098) a prospective study specifically designed for Genome-wide Association Studies (GWAS) analyses was studied. In this cohort with 58 months of median follow-up, the comparison in the HER2-positive group of adjuvant trastuzumab and chemotherapy modalities was based on a propensity score methodology. Treatment modalities were based on physician's choice and comparisons adjustment were made by a propensity score methodology. Overall Survival (OS) and Disease-Free Survival (DFS) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and comparisons between groups were based on the log rank test. RESULTS: The SIGNAL/PHARE cohort included 11,728 breast cancer cases treated in adjuvant setting; some 5502 of them with HER2-positive tumour: 34.5% (1897/5502) were treated by sequential and 65.5% (3605/5502) by concomitant modality of administration for taxane-chemotherapy and trastuzumab. The adjusted comparison found similar OS (HR = 1.01; 95% CI: 0.86-1.19) and similar DFS (HR = 1.08; 95% CI: 0.96-1.21). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the sequential administration of trastuzumab given after the completion of adjuvant chemotherapy might be as valid as the concomitant administration of trastuzumab and taxane chemotherapy in the adjuvant setting.

Constitutional variants are not associated with HER2-positive breast cancer: results from the SIGNAL/PHARE clinical cohort.

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast cancer is a subtype of interest regarding its outcome and the impressive impact of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 targeted therapy. Constitutional variants may be involved in the aetiology of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast cancer, and we propose a case-case study to test the hypothesis that single nucleotide polymorphisms may be associated with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 status. A Genome-Wide Association Study was used in a cohort of 9836 patients from the SIGNAL/PHARE study (NCT00381901-RECF1098). The main goal was to identify variants specifically related to human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast cancer. A two-staged genotyping strategy was carried out to cover as large a proportion of the genome as possible. All subjects were genotyped using the Illumina HumanCore Exome chip set. Principal Components Analysis and k-means were then used to characterize the ancestry of the participants. A random sample of subjects from the main "European" cluster was genotyped with the Omni5 chip set. These data were then used to impute missing genotypes from the remaining subjects genotyped only using the HumanCore Exome array. From the 9836 patients, a total of 8703 cases including 3230 patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast cancer were analyzed. Despite having 80% power to detect an odds ratio of 1.23 in this population, no variant achieved genome-wide significance for association with the occurrence of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast cancer vs. any other subtype of breast tumour. Our study was unable to identify constitutional polymorphisms that are strongly associated with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive status among breast cancer patients.

New advances in DPYD genotype and risk of severe toxicity under capecitabine.

BACKGROUND: Deficiency in dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) enzyme is the main cause of severe and lethal fluoropyrimidine-related toxicity. Various approaches have been developed for DPD-deficiency screening, including DPYD genotyping and phenotyping. The goal of this prospective observational study was to perform exhaustive exome DPYD sequencing and to examine relationships between DPYD variants and toxicity in advanced breast cancer patients receiving capecitabine. METHODS: Two-hundred forty-three patients were analysed (88.5% capecitabine monotherapy). Grade 3 and grade 4 capecitabine-related digestive and/or neurologic and/or hemato-toxicities were observed in 10.3% and 2.1% of patients, respectively. DPYD exome, along with flanking intronic regions 3'UTR and 5'UTR, were sequenced on MiSeq Illumina. DPD phenotype was assessed by pre-treatment plasma uracil (U) and dihydrouracil (UH2) measurement. RESULTS: Among the 48 SNPs identified, 19 were located in coding regions, including 3 novel variations, each observed in a single patient (among which, F100L and A26T, both pathogenic in silico). Combined analysis of deleterious variants *2A, I560S (*13) and D949V showed significant association with grade 3-4 toxicity (sensitivity 16.7%, positive predictive value (PPV) 71.4%, relative risk (RR) 6.7, p<0.001) but not with grade 4 toxicity. Considering additional deleterious coding variants D342G, S492L, R592W and F100L increased the sensitivity to 26.7% for grade 3-4 toxicity (PPV 72.7%, RR 7.6, p<0.001), and was significantly associated with grade 4 toxicity (sensitivity 60%, PPV 27.3%, RR 31.4, p = 0.001), suggesting the clinical relevance of extended targeted DPYD genotyping. As compared to extended genotype, combining genotyping (7 variants) and phenotyping (U>16 ng/ml) did not substantially increase the sensitivity, while impairing PPV and RR. CONCLUSIONS: Exploring an extended set of deleterious DPYD variants improves the performance of DPYD genotyping for predicting both grade 3-4 and grade 4 toxicities (digestive and/or neurologic and/or hematotoxicities) related to capecitabine, as compared to conventional genotyping restricted to consensual variants *2A, *13 and D949V.

Mutational Profile of Metastatic Breast Cancers: A Retrospective Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Major advances have been achieved in the characterization of early breast cancer (eBC) genomic profiles. Metastatic breast cancer (mBC) is associated with poor outcomes, yet limited information is available on the genomic profile of this disease. This study aims to decipher mutational profiles of mBC using next-generation sequencing. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Whole-exome sequencing was performed on 216 tumor-blood pairs from mBC patients who underwent a biopsy in the context of the SAFIR01, SAFIR02, SHIVA, or Molecular Screening for Cancer Treatment Optimization (MOSCATO) prospective trials. Mutational profiles from 772 primary breast tumors from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were used as a reference for comparing primary and mBC mutational profiles. Twelve genes (TP53, PIK3CA, GATA3, ESR1, MAP3K1, CDH1, AKT1, MAP2K4, RB1, PTEN, CBFB, and CDKN2A) were identified as significantly mutated in mBC (false discovery rate [FDR] < 0.1). Eight genes (ESR1, FSIP2, FRAS1, OSBPL3, EDC4, PALB2, IGFN1, and AGRN) were more frequently mutated in mBC as compared to eBC (FDR < 0.01). ESR1 was identified both as a driver and as a metastatic gene (n = 22, odds ratio = 29, 95% CI [9-155], p = 1.2e-12) and also presented with focal amplification (n = 9) for a total of 31 mBCs with either ESR1 mutation or amplification, including 27 hormone receptor positive (HR+) and HER2 negative (HER2-) mBCs (19%). HR+/HER2- mBC presented a high prevalence of mutations on genes located on the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway (TSC1 and TSC2) as compared to HR+/HER2- eBC (respectively 6% and 0.7%, p = 0.0004). Other actionable genes were more frequently mutated in HR+ mBC, including ERBB4 (n = 8), NOTCH3 (n = 7), and ALK (n = 7). Analysis of mutational signatures revealed a significant increase in APOBEC-mediated mutagenesis in HR+/HER2- metastatic tumors as compared to primary TCGA samples (p < 2e-16). The main limitations of this study include the absence of bone metastases and the size of the cohort, which might not have allowed the identification of rare mutations and their effect on survival. CONCLUSIONS: This work reports the results of the analysis of the first large-scale study on mutation profiles of mBC. This study revealed genomic alterations and mutational signatures involved in the resistance to therapies, including actionable mutations.

GWAS in the SIGNAL/PHARE clinical cohort restricts the association between the FGFR2 locus and estrogen receptor status to HER2-negative breast cancer patients.

Genetic polymorphisms are associated with breast cancer risk. Clinical and epidemiological observations suggest that clinical characteristics of breast cancer, such as estrogen receptor or HER2 status, are also influenced by hereditary factors. To identify genetic variants associated with pathological characteristics of breast cancer patients, a Genome Wide Association Study was performed in a cohort of 9365 women from the French nationwide SIGNAL/PHARE studies (NCT00381901/RECF1098). Strong association between the FGFR2 locus and ER status of breast cancer patients was observed (ER-positive n=6211, ER-negative n=2516; rs3135718 OR=1.34 p=5.46×10-12). This association was limited to patients with HER2-negative tumors (ER-positive n=4267, ER-negative n=1185; rs3135724 OR=1.85 p=1.16×10-11). The FGFR2 locus is known to be associated with breast cancer risk. This study provides sound evidence for an association between variants in the FGFR2 locus and ER status among breast cancer patients, particularly among patients with HER2-negative disease. This refinement of the association between FGFR2 variants and ER-status to HER2-negative disease provides novel insight to potential biological and clinical influence of genetic polymorphisms on breast tumors.

A whole-genome sequence and transcriptome perspective on HER2-positive breast cancers.

HER2-positive breast cancer has long proven to be a clinically distinct class of breast cancers for which several targeted therapies are now available. However, resistance to the treatment associated with specific gene expressions or mutations has been observed, revealing the underlying diversity of these cancers. Therefore, understanding the full extent of the HER2-positive disease heterogeneity still remains challenging. Here we carry out an in-depth genomic characterization of 64 HER2-positive breast tumour genomes that exhibit four subgroups, based on the expression data, with distinctive genomic features in terms of somatic mutations, copy-number changes or structural variations. The results suggest that, despite being clinically defined by a specific gene amplification, HER2-positive tumours melt into the whole luminal-basal breast cancer spectrum rather than standing apart. The results also lead to a refined ERBB2 amplicon of 106 kb and show that several cases of amplifications are compatible with a breakage-fusion-bridge mechanism.

Serum HER2 extra-cellular domain, S100ß and CA 15-3 levels are independent prognostic factors in metastatic breast cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) prognosis is highly variable, depending on various factors such as the biological subtype, the performance status, disease extension…. A better evaluation of a patient's prognostic factors could allow for a more accurate choice of treatments. The role of serum tumor markers remains, however, unclear in this population. Considering the recent interest in phenotypic changes and tumor heterogeneity during breast cancer progression, additional tumor markers could be interesting in this setting. METHODS: Two hundred fifty MBC patients treated at the Montpellier Cancer Institute (2008-2015) were retrospectively selected, based on the availability of frozen serum samples. The usual MBC clinical and pathological variables were collected, altogether with Cancer Antigen 15-3 (CA15-3), Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA), HER2 extra-cellular domain (ECD), Neuron Specific Enolase (NSE), S100ß protein and Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) serum levels in order to determine their prognostic value. RESULTS: With a median follow-up of 40.8 months, median overall survival was 16.2 months (95 % CI 12.4-20.6). In multivariate analysis, the performance status, brain or subcutaneous metastases, the number of previous metastatic chemotherapy lines and the tumor biological subtype were independent prognostic factors. Elevated CA 15-3 (HR = 1.95, IC 95 % 1.31-2.93, p = 0.001), HER2 ECD (regardless of tumor HER2 status, HR = 2.51, IC 95 % 1.53-4.12, p < 0.001) and S100ß (HR = 1.93, IC 95 % 1.05-3.54, p = 0.033) serum levels were independently associated with a poor outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Serum CA 15-3, HER2 ECD and S100ß could represent useful independent prognostic factors in MBC. Of particular interest is the independent value of serum HER2 ECD levels, regardless of the tumor HER2 status, possibly linked to metastatic tumor heterogeneity.

Serum NSE, MMP-9 and HER2 extracellular domain are associated with brain metastases in metastatic breast cancer patients: predictive biomarkers for brain metastases?

Breast cancer (BC) is the second most common cause of brain metastases (BM). Predictive factors for BM have been widely studied in metastatic BC; however, there is no known serum tumor marker to accurately predict BM. Elevated serum S100ß protein and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) could reflect the brain damages induced by BM. Matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) is involved in tumor invasion and metastatic dissemination, including BM. Also, HER2-amplified BC were shown to have a particular tropism for central nervous system (CNS). This study evaluated the correlation of these biomarkers with the presence of BM in metastatic BC patients. In this case-control study, 88 consecutive metastatic BC patients with BM (BM group) treated in our institution (2008-2015) were retrospectively selected, based on the availability of frozen serum samples for tumor marker determination. Patients were matched by age, tumor biology and number of previous metastatic chemotherapy lines to 162 metastatic BC patients without CNS involvement (control group). Serum NSE, MMP-9 and HER2 extracellular domain (ECD) levels were significantly higher in the BM group (p = 0.0051, p = 0.0062 and p = 0.0057, respectively). In multivariate analysis, serum HER2 and MMP-9 levels accurately discriminated patients with BM: odds ratios 4.4 (p < 0.001; 95%CI: 1.9-9.6) for HER2 ECD and 3.5 (p = 0.005; 95%CI: 1.5-8.4) for MMP-9. In multivariate analysis, HER2 ECD and NSE serum levels were independent prognostic factors in patients with BM. Serum HER2 ECD and MMP-9 appear to be associated with BM in metastatic BC patients. Their predictive value for BM still needs to be evaluated in further prospective studies.