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Immunoexpression of HER2 pathway related markers in HER2 invasive breast carcinomas treated with trastuzumab
Andreia Fabiana do Vale Franco1, Andrea Cristina Moraes Malinverni1, Angela Flavia Logullo Waitzberg1
1Pathology Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista, de Medicina, Botucatu Street, 740, 1st Floor Vila Clementino, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Laboratory of Molecular and Experimental Pathology, Universidade Federal, de São Paulo, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Pedro de Toledo Street, 781, 5th Floor - Vila Clementino, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Purpose:
We evaluated the immunoexpression of potential markers involved in the HER2 pathway in invasive breast carcinoma with HER2 amplification treated with trastuzumab.
Methods:
Samples of ninety patients diagnosed and treated at two public Brazilian hospitals with overexpressed invasive carcinoma between 2009 and 2018 were included. Several markers (Bcl-2, CDK4, cyclin D1, EGFR, IGF1, IGF-1R, MDM2, MUC4, p16, p21, p27, p53, PTEN, RA, TNFα, and VEGF) were immune analyzed in the tumor by immunohistochemistry and then correlated with clinicopathological variables.
Results:
Tumor sample expression results determined potential markers of good prognosis with statistically significant values: cyclin D1 with a nuclear grade, and recurrence; IGF-1 with tumor size, and death; p16 with a response after treatment; PTEN with a response after treatment, and death. Markers of poor prognosis: p53 with histological, and nuclear grade; IGF-1R with a compromised lymph node. The treatment resistance rate after trastuzumab was 40%; the overall survival was 4.13 years (95% CI 5.1-12.5) and the disease-free survival was 3.6 years (95% CI 5.1-13.1).
Conclusions:
The tumor samples profile demonstrated that cyclin D1, IGF-1, p16, and PTEN presented the potential for a good prognosis and p53 and IGF-1R for worse.

