title: Clinical therapy and HER-2 oncogene amplification in breast cancer: chemo- vs radiotherapy.
abstract: One hundred and five breast cancer patients with stage T3/4, N+/-, Mo were treated at random either with a pre- and postoperative chemotherapy (A) (5-drug-combination + tamoxifen) or with a pre- and postoperative radiotherapy (B). Paraffin embedded tissue samples were prepared from tumor material taken by biopsy prior to therapy as well as at surgery from patients of both groups to estimate the HER-2 oncogene copy numbers before and after treatment. In 53 and 50% of the pretherapeutic samples the HER-2 gene was amplified in groups A and B, respectively. In the post-therapeutic group 60% of the chemotherapy and 48% of the radiotherapy patients, respectively, had low or high HER-2 oncogene copy numbers. In addition, HER-2 amplification before and after therapy was estimated in 28 patients. An increase of oncogene copy numbers could be detected in 21% of the chemotherapy patients, and a decrease was noted in 11%. No radiotherapy patient showed a rise, but 11% a loss of copy numbers. Although amplification of HER-2 oncogene was not found to be associated with overall survival as it was in many studies before, it could still be a predictor of clinical outcome and the cause of mammary carcinomas developing into stage T3/4.
authors.affiliation: Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental Endocrinology, Department of Cellular Endocrinology, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stühlinger
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Helmer
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dobianer
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hruza
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rainer
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Locker
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spona
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001483:Base Sequence; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005784:Gene Amplification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009856:Oncogene Proteins, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D009857:Oncogenes; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D011987:Receptors, Steroid / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D013629:Tamoxifen / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D009856:Oncogene Proteins, Viral; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D011987:Receptors, Steroid; D013629:Tamoxifen