ERBB2 status and benefit from adjuvant tamoxifen in ERalpha-positive postmenopausal breast carcinoma.
We examined the relation between ERBB2 gene expression (as determined by a real-time quantitative RT-PCR assay) and the response to adjuvant tamoxifen therapy in a well-defined cohort of 125 ERalpha-positive postmenopausal patients with breast cancer. Although ERBB2 overexpression was associated with shorter relapse-free survival in univariate analysis (P=0.00029), ERBB2 did not persist as an independent prognostic factor in multivariate analysis. Nevertheless, when we analyzed the ERBB2 mRNA level as a continuous variable, the higher the ERBB2RNA level, the poorer the outcome (P=0.00036). The results point to the need for a quantitative ERBB2 expression assay for use in future studies of ERBB2-based clinical management of breast cancer.
Bièche
I
I
Laboratoire d'Oncogénétique, INSERM E0017, 35 rue Dailly, F-92211 St-Cloud, France. ivan.bieche@pharmacie.univ-paris5.fr
Onody
P
P
Lerebours
F
F
Tozlu
S
S
Hacene
K
K
Andrieu
C
C
Vidaud
M
M
Tubiana-Hulin
M
M
Spyratos
F
F
Lidereau
R
R
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004351:Drug Resistance; D004965:Estrogen Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013629:Tamoxifen / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; D004965:Estrogen Antagonists; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D013629:Tamoxifen