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Prognostic factors in non-metastatic HER2 ‘low’ and HER2 ‘negative’ breast cancer: single institute experience

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Summary

Aim

Comparison of prognosis and survival in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-low and HER2-negative patients with early stage or locally advanced, hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.

Material and methods

In a retrospective single center study, the patients with early stage or locally advanced stage, hormone receptor (HR)-positive [estrogen receptor (ER) ≥ 1% and/or progesterone receptor (PR) ≥ 1%] and HER2 negative or HER2 low invasive breast cancer diagnosis were included. A total of 444 patients were included in the study. Patients were divided into two groups: HER2 negative and HER2 low. There were 235 (53%) patients in the HER2 negative group and 209 (47%) patients in the HER2 low group.

Results

The HER2 low group had significantly longer 5‑year disease-free survival (DFS) than the HER2 negative group. The patients with lower Ki67 (< 20%) also had a longer 5‑year DFS.

Conclusion

Nonmetastatic HR+/HER2 low breast cancer patients had better DFS than HR+/HER2 negative ones. The Ki67 level and HER2 low status were independent prognostic factors. Randomized clinical trials are needed in early stage HER2 low breast cancer patients.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Medical Oncology, Dr. Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Ankara Oncology Research and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

    Alper Türkel, Mutlu Doğan, Elif Sertesen, Cengiz Karaçin & Öztürk Ateş

  2. Division of Pathology, Dr. Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Ankara Oncology Research and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

    Sultan Çiğdem Irkkan

  3. Vatan Street No: 91, 06200, Yenimahalle/Ankara, Turkey

    Alper Türkel

Authors
  1. Alper Türkel
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  2. Mutlu Doğan
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  4. Cengiz Karaçin
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  5. Sultan Çiğdem Irkkan
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Contributions

Conception—Constructing the idea for the manuscript: A.T. and M.D. Design—Planning methodology to reach the conclusion: A.T., M.D. and E.S. Supervision—Organizing and supervising the course of the manuscript and taking the responsibility: M.D., C.K. and Ö.A. Literature review—Summarizing, synthesizing, and analyzing the literature: A.T., E.S. and S.Ç.I. Writing editing—Taking responsibility for the construction of the manuscript: A.T., M.D. and C.K. Critical review—Reviewing the article before submission not only for spelling and grammar but also for its intellectual content: A.T., M.D., C.K., Ö.A. and S.Ç.I. Final assessment—Final approval of the version to be published: A.T., M.D. and C.K.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alper Türkel.

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Conflict of interest

A. Türkel, M. Doğan, E. Sertesen, C. Karaçin, S.Ç. Irkkan and Ö. Ateş declare that they have no competing interests.

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Türkel, A., Doğan, M., Sertesen, E. et al. Prognostic factors in non-metastatic HER2 ‘low’ and HER2 ‘negative’ breast cancer: single institute experience. Wien Klin Wochenschr 136, 340–346 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-023-02315-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-023-02315-z

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