Therapy response and prognosis of patients with early breast cancer with low positivity for hormone receptors - An analysis of 2765 patients from neoadjuvant clinical trials.

AIM: To evaluate HER2-negative breast cancer (BC) with a low hormone receptor (HR) expression, with regard to pathological complete response (pCR) and survival, in comparison to triple-negative BC (TNBC) and strong HR-positive BC. METHODS: We compared negative [oestrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) <1%], low-positive (ER and/or PR 1-9%) and strong-positive (ER or PR 10-100%) HR-expression in neoadjuvant clinical trial cohorts (n = 2765) of BC patients. End-points were disease-free survival (DFS), distant-disease free survival (DDFS) and overall survival (OS). We performed RNA sequencing on available tumour tissue samples from patients with low-HR expression (n = 38). RESULTS: Ninety-four (3.4%) patients had low HR-positive tumours, 1769 (64.0%) had strong HR-positive tumours, and 902 (32.6%) had TNBC. There were no significant differences in pCR rates between women with low HR-positive tumours (27.7%) and women with TNBC (35.5%). DFS and DDFS were also not different [for DFS, hazard ratio 1.26, 95%-CI (confidence interval) : 0.87-1.83, log-rank test p = 0.951; for DDFS, hazard ratio 1.17, 95%-CI: 0.78-1.76, log-rank test p = 0.774]. Patients with strong HR-positive tumours had a significantly lower pCR rate (pCR 9.4%; odds ratio 0.38, 95%-CI: 0.23-0.63), but better DFS (hazard ratio 0.48, 95%-CI: 0.33-0.70) and DDFS (hazard ratio 0.49, 95%-CI: 0.33-0.74) than patients with low HR-positive tumours. Molecular subtyping (RNA sequencing) of low HR-positive tumours classified these predominantly into a basal subtype (86.8%). CONCLUSION: Low HR-positive, HER2-negative tumours have a similar clinical behaviour to TNBC showing high pCR rates and poor survival and also a basal-like gene expression signature. Patients with low HR-positive tumours should be regarded as candidates for therapy strategies targeting TNBC.

PIK3CA mutations are associated with lower rates of pathologic complete response to anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (her2) therapy in primary HER2-overexpressing breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway aberrations are common in breast cancer, with mutations in PIK3CA being the most common. This study investigated the association between PIK3CA genotype and pathologic complete response (pCR) rates in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer treated with either dual or single anti-HER2 treatment in addition to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: PIK3CA mutations in 504 tumor samples from participants in the neoadjuvant GeparQuattro, GeparQuinto, and GeparSixto studies were evaluated. All HER2-positive patients received either trastuzumab or lapatinib or the combination plus anthracycline-taxane chemotherapy. PIK3CA mutations were evaluated in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues from core biopsies with a tumor cell content of ≥ 20% by using classical Sanger sequencing of exon 9 and exon 20. RESULTS: Overall, 21.4% of the patients harbored a PIK3CA mutation. Detection of a PIK3CA mutation was significantly associated with a lower pCR rate (19.4% with PIK3CA mutation v 32.8% with PIK3CA wild-type; odds ratio [OR], 0.49; 95% CI, 0.29 to 0.83; P = .008). In the 291 hormone receptor (HR) -positive tumors, pCR rate was 11.3% with a PIK3CA mutation compared with 27.5% with PIK3CA wild-type (OR, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.15 to 0.78; P = .011). In 213 patients with HR-negative tumors, pCR rate was 30.4% with PIK3CA mutation and 40.1% without (OR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.32 to 1.32; P = .233; interaction test P = .292). In multivariable analysis, HR status and PIK3CA status provided independent predictive information. In patients with PIK3CA mutation, the pCR rates were 16%, 24.3%, and 17.4% with lapatinib, trastuzumab, and the combination, respectively (P = .654) and in the wild-type group, they were 18.2%, 33.%, and 37.1%, respectively (P = .017). Disease-free survival and overall survival were not statistically significantly different between patients with mutant and wild-type PIK3CA. CONCLUSION: HER2-positive breast carcinomas with a PIK3CA mutation are less likely to achieve a pCR after neoadjuvant anthracycline-taxane-based chemotherapy plus anti-HER2 treatment, even if a dual anti-HER2 treatment is given.

Hyperplasia of the subcutaneous adipose tissue is the primary histopathologic abnormality in lipedematous scalp.

A 51-year-old white woman presented with thickening of the scalp located at the vertex and left lateral occiput without hair abnormalities or alopecia. Skin biopsies of the thickened scalp showed thickening of the subcutaneous tissue with proliferation of mature subcutaneous fat cells but no signs of inflammation or hair abnormalities. During 2.5 years of follow-up, scalp thickening progressed over the entire hair-bearing scalp and persisted without signs of further progression at 3.5 year follow-up. Lipedematous scalp is an extremely rare diagnosis. It is defined by a thickening of the subcutaneous layer of the scalp and can be distinguished from lipedematous alopecia, in which subcutaneous thickening is associated with diffuse alopecia and shortening of scalp hairs. A total of seven cases of lipedematous alopecia and two cases of lipedematous scalp have been reported. We report the third case of lipedematous scalp in a 51-year-old white woman associated with early symptoms of meningitis. Additional features described in the literature include pruritus, pain, and paresthesia of the scalp as well as associated medical problems such as hyperelasticity of skin and laxity of joints, renal failure, and diabetes mellitus. This sporadic disorder is predominantly located at the vertex and occiput. The etiology and pathogenesis of lipedematous scalp and alopecia remain unclear. The treatment is symptomatic.