Survival outcomes for HER2-low breast cancer: Danish national data

Background and purpose: We investigated the prognosis of breast cancer (BC) with low expression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), as previous studies have found varying impacts on survival of HER2-low BC compared with HER2 0 BC (HER2 IHC score of 0). HER2-low is defined as a score...

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Main Authors: Michael Sode, Kåre Nielsen, Maj-Britt Jensen, Tobias Berg, Ann Knoop, Bent Ejlertsen, Anne-Vibeke Lænkholm
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Medical Journals Sweden 2024-11-01
Series:Acta Oncologica
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Online Access:https://medicaljournalssweden.se/actaoncologica/article/view/41280
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author Michael Sode
Kåre Nielsen
Maj-Britt Jensen
Tobias Berg
Ann Knoop
Bent Ejlertsen
Anne-Vibeke Lænkholm
author_facet Michael Sode
Kåre Nielsen
Maj-Britt Jensen
Tobias Berg
Ann Knoop
Bent Ejlertsen
Anne-Vibeke Lænkholm
author_sort Michael Sode
collection DOAJ
description Background and purpose: We investigated the prognosis of breast cancer (BC) with low expression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), as previous studies have found varying impacts on survival of HER2-low BC compared with HER2 0 BC (HER2 IHC score of 0). HER2-low is defined as a score of 1+ or 2+ in an immunohistochemical (IHC) assay without HER2 gene amplification. Materials and methods: Patients with HER2 0 or HER2-low BC from the national Danish Breast Cancer Group database were examined by multivariable survival analysis in a retrospective noninterventional investigation. Patients were grouped as either HER2 0 or HER2-low. The primary endpoint was time to recurrence (TR), and the secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and distant recurrence-free interval (DRFI). Results: 41,610 patients were included (12,981 with HER2 0 BC and 28,629 with HER2-low BC). HER2-low BC was associated with a lower risk of recurrence (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.92, p = 0.03). Regarding secondary endpoints, HER2-low disease was linked to improved overall OS (HR: 0.94, p = 0.02). No statistically significant effect of HER2-low was found for DRFI, along with no differential effect of HER2-low according to estrogen receptor (ER) status. Interpretation: HER2-low BC was found to show an improved HR for OS and DRFI compared with HER2 0 BC; however, further studies are need to establish whether it represents a separate biological entity.
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spelling doaj-art-23de7ff8c85c46a18a7018b883ff99892024-11-15T05:25:59ZengMedical Journals SwedenActa Oncologica1651-226X2024-11-0163110.2340/1651-226X.2024.41280Survival outcomes for HER2-low breast cancer: Danish national dataMichael Sode0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5449-4021Kåre Nielsen1Maj-Britt Jensen2Tobias Berg3Ann Knoop4Bent Ejlertsen5Anne-Vibeke Lænkholm6Department of Surgical Pathology, Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde, DenmarkDepartment of Surgical Pathology, Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde, DenmarkDanish Breast Cancer Group, DBCG, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, DenmarkDanish Breast Cancer Group, DBCG, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark; Department of Clinical Oncology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, DenmarkDepartment of Clinical Oncology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, DenmarkDanish Breast Cancer Group, DBCG, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark; Department of Clinical Oncology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Surgical Pathology, Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DenmarkBackground and purpose: We investigated the prognosis of breast cancer (BC) with low expression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), as previous studies have found varying impacts on survival of HER2-low BC compared with HER2 0 BC (HER2 IHC score of 0). HER2-low is defined as a score of 1+ or 2+ in an immunohistochemical (IHC) assay without HER2 gene amplification. Materials and methods: Patients with HER2 0 or HER2-low BC from the national Danish Breast Cancer Group database were examined by multivariable survival analysis in a retrospective noninterventional investigation. Patients were grouped as either HER2 0 or HER2-low. The primary endpoint was time to recurrence (TR), and the secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and distant recurrence-free interval (DRFI). Results: 41,610 patients were included (12,981 with HER2 0 BC and 28,629 with HER2-low BC). HER2-low BC was associated with a lower risk of recurrence (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.92, p = 0.03). Regarding secondary endpoints, HER2-low disease was linked to improved overall OS (HR: 0.94, p = 0.02). No statistically significant effect of HER2-low was found for DRFI, along with no differential effect of HER2-low according to estrogen receptor (ER) status. Interpretation: HER2-low BC was found to show an improved HR for OS and DRFI compared with HER2 0 BC; however, further studies are need to establish whether it represents a separate biological entity. https://medicaljournalssweden.se/actaoncologica/article/view/41280HER2-low breast cancerSurvival analysisHER2-low prognosisHER2DBCG
spellingShingle Michael Sode
Kåre Nielsen
Maj-Britt Jensen
Tobias Berg
Ann Knoop
Bent Ejlertsen
Anne-Vibeke Lænkholm
Survival outcomes for HER2-low breast cancer: Danish national data
Acta Oncologica
HER2-low breast cancer
Survival analysis
HER2-low prognosis
HER2
DBCG
title Survival outcomes for HER2-low breast cancer: Danish national data
title_full Survival outcomes for HER2-low breast cancer: Danish national data
title_fullStr Survival outcomes for HER2-low breast cancer: Danish national data
title_full_unstemmed Survival outcomes for HER2-low breast cancer: Danish national data
title_short Survival outcomes for HER2-low breast cancer: Danish national data
title_sort survival outcomes for her2 low breast cancer danish national data
topic HER2-low breast cancer
Survival analysis
HER2-low prognosis
HER2
DBCG
url https://medicaljournalssweden.se/actaoncologica/article/view/41280
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AT tobiasberg survivaloutcomesforher2lowbreastcancerdanishnationaldata
AT annknoop survivaloutcomesforher2lowbreastcancerdanishnationaldata
AT bentejlertsen survivaloutcomesforher2lowbreastcancerdanishnationaldata
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