Clinical value of R-spondins in triple-negative and metaplastic breast cancers.

BACKGROUND: RSPO ligands, activators of the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway, are overexpressed in different cancers. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of RSPOs in breast cancer (BC). METHODS: Expression of RSPO and markers of various cancer pathways were measured in breast tumours and cell lines by qRT-PCR. The effect of RSPO on the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway activity was determined by luciferase assay, western blotting, and qRT-PCR. The effect of RSPO2 inhibition on proliferation was determined by using RSPO2 siRNAs. The effect of IWR-1, an inhibitor of the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway, was examined on the growth of an RSPO2-positive patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model of metaplastic triple-negative BC. RESULTS: We detected RSPO2 and RSPO4 overexpression levels in BC, particularly in triple-negative BC (TNBC), metaplastic BC, and triple-negative cell lines. Various mechanisms could account for this overexpression: presence of fusion transcripts involving RSPO, and amplification or hypomethylation of RSPO genes. Patients with RSPO2-overexpressing tumours have a poorer metastasis-free survival (P=3.6 × 10-4). RSPO2 and RSPO4 stimulate Wnt/ß-catenin pathway activity. Inhibition of RSPO expression in a TN cell line inhibits cell growth, and IWR-1 significantly inhibits the growth of an RSPO2-overexpressing PDX. CONCLUSIONS: RSPO overexpression could therefore be a new prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for TNBC.

A phase II trial of abiraterone acetate plus prednisone in patients with triple-negative androgen receptor positive locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer (UCBG 12-1).

BACKGROUND: Several expression array studies identified molecular apocrine breast cancer (BC) as a subtype that expresses androgen receptor (AR) but not estrogen receptor α. We carried out a multicentre single-arm phase II trial in women with AR-positive, estrogen, progesterone receptor and HER2-negative (triple-negative) metastatic or inoperable locally advanced BC to assess the efficacy and safety of abiraterone acetate (AA) plus prednisone. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with a metastatic or locally advanced, centrally reviewed, triple-negative and AR-positive (≥10% by immunohistochemistry, IHC) BC were eligible. Any number of previous lines of chemotherapy was allowed. AA (1000 mg) was administered once a day with prednisone (5 mg) twice a day until disease progression or intolerance. The primary end point was clinical benefit rate (CBR) at 6 months defined as the proportion of patients presenting a complete response (CR), partial response (PR) or stable disease (SD) ≥6 months. Secondary end points were objective response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS) and safety. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-six patients from 27 centres consented for IHC central review. Of the 138 patients with sufficient tissue available, 53 (37.6%) were AR-positive and triple-negative, and 34 of them were included from July 2013 to December 2014. Thirty patients were eligible and evaluable for the primary end point. The 6-month CBR was 20.0% [95% confidence interval (CI) 7.7%-38.6%], including 1 CR and 5 SD ≥6 months, 5 of them still being under treatment at the time of analysis (6.4+, 9.2+, 14.5+, 17.6+, 23.4+ months). The ORR was 6.7% (95% CI 0.8%-22.1%). The median PFS was 2.8 months (95% CI 1.7%-5.4%). Fatigue, hypertension, hypokalaemia and nausea were the most common drug-related adverse events; the majority of them being grade 1 or 2. CONCLUSIONS: AA plus prednisone treatment is beneficial for some patients with molecular apocrine tumours and five patients are still on treatment. CLINICALTRIALSGOV: NCT01842321.

Long-term survival of advanced triple-negative breast cancers with a dose-intense cyclophosphamide/anthracycline neoadjuvant regimen.

BACKGROUND: Triple-negative (TN) breast cancers exhibit major initial responses to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, but generally have a poor outcome. Because of the lack of validated drug targets, chemotherapy remains an important therapeutic tool in these cancers. METHODS: We report the survival of two consecutive series of 267 locally advanced breast cancers (LABC) treated with two different neoadjuvant regimens, either a dose-dense and dose-intense cyclophosphamide-anthracycline (AC) association (historically called SIM) or a conventional sequential association of cyclophosphamide and anthracycline, followed by taxanes (EC-T). We compared pathological responses and survival rates of these two groups and studied their association with tumours features. RESULTS: Although the two regimens showed equivalent pathological complete response (pCR) in the whole population (16 and 12%), the SIM regimen yielded a non-statistically higher pCR rate than EC-T (48% vs 24%, P=0.087) in TN tumours. In the SIM protocol, DFS was statistically higher for TN than for non-TN patients (P=0.019), although we showed that the TN status was associated with an increased initial risk of recurrence in both regimens. This effect gradually decreased and after 2 years, TN was associated with a significantly decreased likelihood of relapse in SIM-treated LABC (hazard ratio (HR)=0.25 (95% CI: 0.07-0.86), P=0.028). CONCLUSIONS: AC dose intensification treatment is associated with a very favourable long-term survival rate in TN breast cancers. These observations call for a prospective assessment of such dose-intense AC-based regimens in locally advanced TN tumours.

Contraception after breast cancer: a retrospective review of the practice among French gynecologists in the 2000's.

PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION: To describe the French practices regarding contraception after breast cancer in the 2000's. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 2,500 forms were sent to gynecologists practicing in France. Inclusion criteria were premenopausal patients who had a history of breast cancer and who had been prescribed contraception after diagnosis. Between June 1, 2002 and January 1, 2003, 197 evaluable responses were retrieved. RESULTS: The median age of the sample was 38.5 years. The most commonly used form of contraception was an intrauterine device (n = 144, 73.1%). Hormonal contraception was prescribed for 42 patients (21.3%), and other methods were used in 29 patients (14.7%) (Condoms n = 14, tubal sterilization n = 7, and others n = 8). Recurrence occurred in 27 patients (13%); 2.9% in the progestin group, 16.3% in the IUD group, and 14.8% with the other methods). CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to evaluate current contraception practices after breast cancer to evaluate the efficacy and safety of contraception in these patients.

HER2-overexpressing breast cancer: FDG uptake after two cycles of chemotherapy predicts the outcome of neoadjuvant treatment.

BACKGROUND: Pathologic complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant treatment (NAT) is associated with improved survival of patients with HER2+ breast cancer. We investigated the ability of interim positron emission tomography (PET) regarding early prediction of pathology outcomes. METHODS: During 61 months, consecutive patients with locally advanced or large HER2+ breast cancer patients without distant metastases were included. All patients received NAT with four cycles of epirubicin+cyclophosphamide, followed by four cycles of docetaxel+trastuzumab. ¹8F-fluorodeoxyglucose (¹8F-FDG)-PET/computed tomography (CT) was performed at baseline (PET1) and after two cycles of chemotherapy (PET2). Maximum standardised uptake values were measured in the primary tumour as well as in the axillary lymph nodes. The correlation between pathologic response and SUV parameters (SUVmax at PET1, PET2 and ΔSUVmax) was examined with the t-test. The predictive performance regarding the identification of non-responders was evaluated using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis. RESULTS: Thirty women were prospectively included and 60 PET/CT examination performed. At baseline, 22 patients had PET+ axilla and in nine of them ¹8F-FDG uptake was higher than in the primary tumour. At surgery, 14 patients (47%) showed residual tumour (non-pCR), whereas 16 (53%) reached pCR. Best prediction was obtained when considering the absolute residual SUVmax value at PET2 (AUC=0.91) vs 0.67 for SUVmax at PET1 and 0.86 for ΔSUVmax. The risk of non-pCR was 92.3% in patients with any site of residual uptake >3 at PET2, no matter whether in breast or axilla, vs 11.8% in patients with uptake ≤3 (P=0.0001). The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and overall accuracy of this cutoff were, respectively: 85.7%, 93.8%, 92.3%, 88.2% and 90%. CONCLUSION: The level of residual ¹8F-FDG uptake after two cycles of chemotherapy predicts residual disease at completion of NAT with chemotherapy+trastuzumab with high accuracy. Because many innovative therapeutic strategies are now available (e.g., addition of a second HER2-directed therapy or an antiangiogenic), early prediction of poor response is critical.

Combination of PI3K and MEK inhibitors yields durable remission in PDX models of PIK3CA-mutated metaplastic breast cancers.

BACKGROUND: Metaplastic breast cancer (MBC) is a rare form of breast cancer characterized by an aggressive clinical presentation, with a poor response to standard chemotherapy. MBCs are typically triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs), frequently with alterations to genes of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR and RTK-MAPK signaling pathways. The objective of this study was to determine the response to PI3K and MAPK pathway inhibitors in patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) of MBCs with targetable alterations. METHODS: We compared survival between triple-negative MBCs and other histological subtypes, in a clinical cohort of 323 TNBC patients. PDX models were established from primary breast tumors classified as MBC. PI3K-AKT-mTOR and RTK-MAPK pathway alterations were detected by targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) and analyses of copy number alterations. Activation of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR and RTK-MAPK signaling pathways was analyzed with reverse-phase protein arrays (RPPA). PDXs carrying an activating mutation of PIK3CA and genomic changes to the RTK-MAPK signaling pathways were treated with a combination consisting of a PI3K inhibitor and a MEK inhibitor. RESULTS: In our clinical cohort, the patients with MBC had a worse prognosis than those with other histological subtypes. We established nine metaplastic TNBC PDXs. Three had a pathogenic mutation of PIK3CA and additional alterations to genes associated with RTK-MAPK signaling. The MBC PDXs expressed typical EMT and stem cell genes and were of the mesenchymal or mesenchymal stem-like TNBC subtypes. On histological analysis, MBC PDXs presented squamous or chondroid differentiation. RPPA analysis showed activation of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR and RTK-MAPK signaling pathways. In vivo, the combination of PI3K and MAPK inhibitors displayed marked antitumor activity in PDXs carrying genomic alterations of PIK3CA, AKT1, BRAF, and FGFR4. CONCLUSION: The treatment of metaplastic breast cancer PDXs by activation of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR and RTK-MAPK pathways at the genomic and protein levels with a combination of PI3K and MEK inhibitors resulted in tumor regression in mutated models and may therefore be of interest for therapeutic purposes.

5-year overall survival after early breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy: A retrospective case-control multicentre French study.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy (BCP) is rare, but the prevalence is expected to rise. Long-term follow-up data regarding this clinically challenging condition are scarce. The main objective of this multicentre case-control French study was to compare the survival between pregnant patients and matched controls. METHODS: Patients from 27 centres diagnosed between 2000 and 2009 with histologically proven invasive breast cancer occurring during pregnancy were retrospectively included. Controls were matched to BCP patients on age, clinical T stage, hormone receptor, HER2, administration of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy and pathological node involvement in the absence of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. Five-year overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS) and metastasis-free survival (MFS) rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: One hundred and eleven BCP patients and 253 controls were included. Median age was 33 and 35 years, respectively. Both populations were managed similarly, except for less frequent sentinel node dissection (p = 0.026) and taxane administration (p = 0.03) among BCP patients. Median follow-up was 7.5 years. Survival rates were similar between both BCP and control patients: 5-year OS rates were 83.1% (95% CI: 74.5-89.0) vs 85.5% (95% CI: 80.4-89.4), respectively, p = 0.31; 5-year DFS rates 60.0% (95% CI: 50.1-68.6) vs 68.5% (95% CI: 62.3-73.9), respectively, p = 0.12 and 5-year MFS rates 71.0% (95% CI: 61.3-78.6) and 74.5% (95% CI: 68.6-79.5), respectively, p = 0.21. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that the survival outcomes of patients diagnosed with BCP were not significantly different as compared to those of matched non-pregnant controls. A proper management of women diagnosed with BCP is crucial.

[New targeted therapies in breast cancer]. / Nouveautés sur les thérapies ciblées dans le cancer du sein.

Trastuzumab improves care of patients with HER2+ breast cancer and allows a major gain in terms of survival. T-DM1 and pertuzumab are two new treatments, which give very encouraging results in metastatic breast cancer. Their place in neo-adjuvant and adjuvant setting still remains to be defined. Bevacizumab have its place in metastatic breast cancer. In adjuvant setting, results are disappointing and in neo-adjuvant setting, we need more studies on subgroups, which can benefit more. Development of the PARP inhibitors was slowed down by recent negative results in metastatic breast cancer but studies continue with more targeted patient's. Finally, everolimus, inhibitor of mTOR, allows to by pass the hormono-resistance in metastatic phase. Its toxicity must be taken into account in particular in adjuvant setting.

[Interest of CA 125 level in management of ovarian cancer]. / Intérêt du dosage du CA 125 dans la prise en charge du cancer de l'ovaire.

CA 125 is the most sensitive and the most used marker in the management of ovarian cancer at various stages of the disease. CA 125 is used at the time of diagnosis of the disease, to evaluate the possibility of complete resection during surgery, to estimate sensibility for adjuvant or neo-adjuvant chemotherapy and for diagnosis of recurrences. CA 125 has a diagnostic and therapeutic value and could be of help during therapeutic evaluation. CA 125 has been the topic of many studies for optimizing the management of epithelial ovarian cancers. Mandatory before any ovarian surgery, serum CA 125 levels is a help for the determination of the appropriate surgery. It appears to be a help in choosing therapeutic strategy, to predict optimal surgery and also global and progression-free survival. Low preoperative rates, half-life and fast normalization of CA 125 during the adjuvant chemotherapy are correlated with an optimal surgery and a better global and progression-free survival. The normal range of CA 125 is a strong predictive factor for disease recurrence even if its role in survival has not yet been determined. The dosage of CA 125 and its dynamic interpretation is an indispensable approach to the diagnosis, therapeutics and follow-up of ovarian cancer. Simple serum CA 125 concentration is a very important prognostic and predictive factor for a personalized care.

[Cervical disease in postmenopausal HIV-1-infected women]. / Dysplasies cervicales chez les patientes ménopausées infectées par le VIH.

INTRODUCTION: An increasing number of HIV-1-infected women reaches the age of menopause. This infection is associated with a higher incidence of cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions (low-grade or LSIL, high grade or HSIL). The aim of our study was to describe the cervical disease in these patients during menopause. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective study, identifying all Pap smears and colposcopy in HIV-1-infected postmenopausal women between 1995 and 2008, in our hospital. RESULTS: Eighteen postmenopausal women, aged of 54 years (43-63), have HIV-1 infection since 7.5 years (2-25). Fifty-one pathological exams were reviewed in which 27 (50.98%) abnormal, including four (7.84%) ASC-US, 15 (29.41%) LSIL lesions, and seven (13.73%) HSIL. Ten patients had surgery (laser, conisation, hysterectomy) during the period. The evolution of cervical lesions was: stability in 40.48%, regression in 35.71% and progression in 23.81%. The median time to develop an HSIL at menopause was 5 years. CONCLUSION: In our study, postmenopausal HIV-1-infected women have most frequently LSIL and persistent. Monitoring of these postmenopausal women should be continued, the attitude to realise an initial HPV typing and confirmation of an abnormal annually Pap smear with colposcopic exam should be confirmed by larger study.