title: HER-2/neu status and response to CMF: retrospective study in a series of operable breast cancer treated with primary CMF chemotherapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Primary chemotherapy brings the opportunity for an early and accurate assessment of response and offers an ideal model to search for new predictors of response. HER-2/neu is one of the most studied genes for this purpose.
  
  
  METHODS
  Her-2/neu was tested in a non-randomized series of 300 patients with operable breast carcinomas treated with primary CMF. Response was assessed by mammography. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated after a mean follow-up of 116 months. Statistical analysis was performed to study the association between HER-2/neu status and response to CMF.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overexpression/amplification was found in 23.66% cases. Univariate analysis showed that response was similar in HER-2/neu positive and negative tumors (51.38 vs. 47.36%, P = 0.6). Triple negative tumors (ER, PR and HER-2/neu negative) presented the highest response rate (64.9%). By multivariate analysis, response was significantly correlated to higher nuclear grade and negative estrogen receptor status (P = 0.02 and 0.007, respectively). Patients with HER-2/neu positive tumors presented shorter survival rates (P = 0.06). Patients with response to CMF showed a better survival over non-responders independent of Her-2/neu status. Patients with the combination of response to CMF and Her-2/neu negative tumors presented the best outcome. On the other hand, the association of no response to CMF and positive Her-2/neu score was statistically related to poor DFS and OS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CMF indication is independent of Her-2/neu status.
authors.affiliation: Breast Cancer Unit, Institut Català d'Oncologia, Hospital Duran i Reynals, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Barcelona, Spain. cfalo@iconcologia.net
authors.forename: Catalina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Falo
authors.forename: Abelardo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: Mar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Varela
authors.forename: Belen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lloveras
authors.forename: Agnès
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Figueras
authors.forename: Agustín
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Escobedo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics*; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005784:Gene Amplification; D018734:Genes, erbB-2; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D005472:Fluorouracil; D008727:Methotrexate