HER-3 overexpression is prognostic of reduced breast cancer survival: a study of 4046 patients.
BACKGROUND
Advances in molecular biology have led to the identification of potential markers of prognostic and therapeutic importance in human cancers. HER-2 testing and targeted therapy now represents a critical cornerstone in the management of breast cancer. The objectives of the current study were to determine the frequency and prognostic significance of HER-3 over-expression and HER-4 over-expression by invasive breast cancer.


METHODS
Tissue microarrays were constructed using clinically annotated formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tumor samples from 4046 patients diagnosed with invasive breast carcinoma with a median 12.5 years of follow-up. Type 1 growth factor receptor family members HER-1, HER-2, HER-3, and HER-4 expression levels were determined by immunohistochemistry, and HER-2 status was further resolved by fluorescent in-situ hybridization. The study cohort was randomly divided and analyzed as a core data set and a validation data set.


RESULTS
HER-3 over-expression was identified in 10.0% of tumors and was a significant marker of reduced patient breast cancer-specific survival on univariate analysis (P = 1.32 x 10(-5)). Furthermore, in tumors with normal expression levels of HER-1 and HER-2, the overexpression of HER-3 had a significant negative prognostic effect on disease-specific survival (HR: 1.541, 95% CI: 1.166-2.036, P = 2.37 x 10(-3)) independent of patient age at diagnosis, Estrogen receptor status, tumor grade, tumor size, nodal status, and the presence of lymphatic or vascular invasion by cancer. HER-4 overexpression was identified in 78.2% of breast cancers and was not a significant marker of patient survival (P = 0.214). Results of all statistical tests were positively confirmed in the validation data set analysis.


CONCLUSIONS
HER-3 status is an important prognostic marker of disease-specific survival in patients with invasive breast cancer. Accordingly, evaluation of the HER-3 expression level may identify a subset of patients with a poor disease prognosis, and who could undergo further evaluation for the efficacy of HER-3 targeted anticancer agents.
Chiu
Connie G
CG
Department of Surgery, St. Paul's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Masoudi
Hamid
H
Leung
Samuel
S
Voduc
David K
DK
Gilks
Blake
B
Huntsman
David G
DG
Wiseman
Sam M
SM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality*; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D020893:Receptor, ErbB-3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D066247:Receptor, ErbB-4; D015996:Survival Rate; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis
D066246:ErbB Receptors; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D020893:Receptor, ErbB-3; D066247:Receptor, ErbB-4; C512478:EGFR protein, human; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human; C587689:ERBB4 protein, human