title: Her-2/neu amplification determined by real-time quantitative PCR and its association with clinical outcome of breast cancer in Thailand.
abstract: HER-2/neu has been found to be amplified or overexpressed in about 20-30% of breast cancers, in association with negative prognosticators and shortened survival. Determination of HER-2/neu status in breast-cancer patients, to select for adjuvant treatment with trastuzumab, is becoming standard breast-cancer clinical practice. This study aimed to investigate HER-2/neu status in breast-cancer by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), allowing accurate and precise quantification of HER-2/neu amplification in tumor tissues. We evaluated 112 breast-cancer samples, of which 42 (37.5%) had HER-2/neu amplification. After a mean follow-up period of 71 months, HER-2/neu amplification was found to be significantly associated with increased risk of death (HR = 6.367, 95% CI = 1.787-22.684), even after adjusting for age, clinical stage, tumor size, lymph-node status, and histologic grade. These findings support a negative prognostic role for HER-2/neu in breast-cancer survival. We suggest that real-time quantitative PCR analysis of HER-2/neu amplification represents an alternative technique for establishing HER-2/neu status in routine clinical practice.
authors: Research Division, National Cancer Institute, Bangkok, Thailand. sunantac05@ gmail.com
authors: Sunanta
authors: S
authors: Chariyalertsak
authors: Wichai
authors: W
authors: Purisa
authors: Songkhun
authors: S
authors: Vinyuvat
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D005784:Gene Amplification; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics*; D013785:Thailand; D000068878:Trastuzumab; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D000068878:Trastuzumab; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human