Conversion of ER, PR, HER2 and Ki-67 and Prognosis in breast cancer metastases to the brain.

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the expression levels of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2), and Ki-67 proliferation index in the brain metastatic lesions and primary lesions in Chinese patients with breast cancer brain metastasis (BCBM) and determine the correlation between their changes and patients' survival. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on patients with BCBM. The clinical characteristic of these patients was collected. The differences in the expression levels of the ER, PR, HER-2, and Ki-67 index between the primary lesions and brain lesions were evaluated, and the association between the differences and survival was analyzed. Results: The conversion rate of anyone receptor (ER, PR, or HER2) between the primary lesions and brain metastatic lesions was 45.0% (18/40), of which the ER inconsistency rate was 25.0%, the PR inconsistency rate was 22.5%, and the HER-2 inconsistency rate was 15.0%, and the receptor conversion resulted in a subtype conversion of 27.5% (11/40). The patients with HER-2 expression discordance between the primary lesions and the brain metastatic lesions had significantly longer survival times (58.9 vs. 26.4 months, P = 0.04) after diagnosis of brain metastases. Conclusion: In this study, 45.0% of breast cancer patients developed biomarker-conversion between the primary lesions and brain metastatic lesions, and the differences in the expression levels of the ER, PR, and HER-2, the change in Ki-67 index between the primary lesions and brain lesions may predict patients' survival.

Progestin as an alternative treatment option for multi-treated recurrent triple-negative breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with recurrent triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) currently have no established treatment option other than chemotherapy. However, long-term chemotherapy is often difficult due to adverse effects. A previous study documented a 10%-30% response rate of progestins in oestrogen receptor-negative breast cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of medroxyprogesterone/megestrol acetate (MPA/MA) in patients with recurrent TNBC. METHODS: This retrospective observational analysis included 51 patients with recurrent TNBC; 17 were treated with MPA/MA and 34 underwent chemotherapy. The two groups were matched at a 1:2 ratio according to age, metastatic sites, and salvage treatment lines. Efficacy was compared using the χ2 and rank-sum tests. Progression-free survival (PFS) was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the two groups were compared using the log-rank test. RESULTS: The two groups were well balanced in terms of age, disease-free survival, number of metastases, and salvage therapy lines. Clinical benefit rates in the MPA/MA and chemotherapy groups were 52.94% and 73.53%, respectively (χ2 test, p = 0.208), and median PFS was comparable between groups (log-rank test, p = 0.135). Median PFS of 1st-6th-line salvage treatments was shorter in the MPA/MA group than in the chemotherapy group (log-rank test, p = 0.036), but median PFS of ≥7th-line salvage treatments was comparable (log-rank test, p = 0.139). Eight patients discontinued chemotherapy due to adverse effects, and one patient withdrew from MPA treatment because of weight gain. CONCLUSIONS: Progestins (MPA/MA) are an alternative treatment option for multi-treated recurrent TNBC.