title: Her2-neu score as a prognostic factor for outcome in patients with triple-negative breast cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by a strong heterogeneity with regard to tumour biology as well as in the clinical course of the disease. This study aimed to analyse whether there are any prognostic factors enabling prediction of the clinical outcome in patients with TNBC. Particularly, the impact of Her2-neu score 0 versus Her2-neu score 1 and 2 on survival was investigated.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively studied a cohort of 1013 patients with TNBC, diagnosed at seven hospitals between May 2002 and February 2015. We studied the impact of Her2-neu scores (0 vs. 1 or 2 with negative FISH) on disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  1013 patients were included in this study. 447 (44.13 %) of them had a T2-4 tumour. A total of 314 (31.00 %) were nodal-positive and 714 (70.48 %) had high-grade tumours. The Her2-neu score of all participating patients was determined. 588 (58.05 %) of them had a Her2-neu score 0, and 425 (41.95 %) had a score of 1 or 2. This study shows that TNBC patients with a Her2-neu score 0 had a significantly poorer outcome regarding DFS (p = 0.0001) and OS (p = 0.0051) compared to a score of 1 or 2. In contrast, grading did not seem to have any prognostic value for women with TNBC.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Her2-neu score 0 might be considered as an innovative prognostic factor for patients with TNBC indicating poor clinical outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Homburg University Medical Centre, University of Saarland, 66421, Homburg, Germany. gilda.schmidt@uks.eu.
authors.forename: Gilda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Homburg University Medical Centre, University of Saarland, 66421, Homburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gerlinger
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Homburg University Medical Centre, University of Saarland, 66421, Homburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Ingolf
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Juhasz-Böss
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, RWTH Aachen University, 52062, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Elmar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stickeler
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Clinic of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Luebeck, 23538, Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: Achim
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rody
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Clinic of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Luebeck, 23538, Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: Cornelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liedtke
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital, 01069, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Pauline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wimberger
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital, 01069, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Theresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Link
authors.affiliation: Hospital St. Wendel, 66606, St. Wendel, Germany.
authors.forename: Eberhard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Duesseldorf University Hospital, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fehm
authors.affiliation: Hospital Idar-Oberstein, 55743, Idar-Oberstein, Germany.
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abel
authors.affiliation: Hospital Idar-Oberstein, 55743, Idar-Oberstein, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Homburg University Medical Centre, University of Saarland, 66421, Homburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bohle
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Homburg University Medical Centre, University of Saarland, 66421, Homburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Endrikat
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Homburg University Medical Centre, University of Saarland, 66421, Homburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Erich-Franz
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Solomayer
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D064726:Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human
keywords: DFS; Her2neu score; OS; TNBC