ESMO expert consensus statements (ECS) on the definition, diagnosis, and management of HER2-low breast cancer

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-low breast cancer has recently emerged as a targetable subset of breast tumors, based on the evidence from clinical trials of novel anti-HER2 antibody-drug conjugates. This evolution has raised several biological and clinical questions, warranting the establishment of consensus to optimally treat patients with HER2-low breast tumors. Between 2022 and 2023, the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) held a virtual consensus-building process focused on HER2-low breast cancer. The consensus included a multidisciplinary panel of 32 leading experts in the management of breast cancer from nine different countries. The aim of the consensus was to develop statements on topics that are not covered in detail in the current ESMO Clinical Practice Guideline. The main topics identified for discussion were (i) biology of HER2-low breast cancer; (ii) pathologic diagnosis of HER2-low breast cancer; (iii) clinical management of HER2-low metastatic breast cancer; and (iv) clinical trial design for HER2-low breast cancer. The expert panel was divided into four working groups to address questions relating to one of the four topics outlined above. A review of the relevant scientific literature was conducted in advance. Consensus statements were developed by the working groups and then presented to the entire panel for further discussion and amendment before voting. This article presents the developed statements, including findings from the expert panel discussions, expert opinion, and a summary of evidence supporting each statement.

Effectiveness and Safety of Long-Term Dupilumab Treatment in Elderly Patients with Atopic Dermatitis: A Multicenter Real-Life Observational Study

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness and safety of dupilumab in treating elderly patients with atopic dermatitis from baseline to 52 weeks.

METHODS

A retrospective observational real-life study was conducted in a group of elderly patients with severe atopic dermatitis treated with dupilumab for 52 weeks. Inclusion criteria were: age ≥ 65 years; diagnosis of atopic dermatitis made by an expert dermatologist; Eczema Area and Severity Index ≥ 24; and a contraindication, side effects, or failure to respond to cyclosporine. The primary outcome was the mean percentage reduction in the Eczema Area and Severity Index score from baseline to week 52. Secondary measures included the mean percentage reduction in the Pruritus and Sleep Numerical Rating Scales and the Dermatology Life Quality Index, and the types and rates of adverse events from baseline to week 52.

RESULTS

One hundred and five patients were eligible for the study. Flexural dermatitis was the most frequent clinical phenotype (63.8%). The coexistence of more than one clinical phenotype was found in 70/105 (66.6%) patients. We observed a reduction in all disease severity scores from baseline to week 52 (p < 0.001). Adverse events were recorded in 30/105 (28.6%) patients, with conjunctivitis and injection-site reaction the most frequent.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, dupilumab is an effective and safe treatment for the long-term management of atopic dermatitis in patients aged over 65 years.

Abstract OT3-01-02: PARTNERING / PARTNER : Phase II sub-study to establish if the addition of combinations of new agents (olaparib, cell cycle and immune checkpoint inhibitors) can improve the rate of pathological complete response (pCR) and minimal residual disease (MRD) in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and / or germline BRCA mutated (gBRCAm) patients with evidence of residual disease after PARTNER therapy

Background:

In patients with TNBC, following standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy, residual disease (RD) is correlated with poor prognosis and 50% relapse within 5 years [1]. PARTNER is a neoadjuvant clinical trial which randomises TNBC and gBRCAm patients to carboplatin and paclitaxel +/- olaparib followed by anthracycline-based chemotherapy. Patients with RD after neoadjuvant treatment in this trial also face poorer survival outcomes, due to the paucity of treatment options. PARTNERING, develops a new strategy using novel agent combinations as an alternative pathway for patients with RD within the PARTNER trial.

Methods: PARTNERING is a phase II open label, sub-study with a two-stage Simon design with biomarker guided treatment cohorts open only to patients in the PARTNER trial. A maximum of 15 patients will be included in each cohort. Patients with RD &gt; 10% tumour cellularity (TC) on biopsy after neoadjuvant therapy will be eligible. Patients who have no tumour cells or &lt; 10% TC, and those with progressive disease will be excluded. Allocation of patients into the cohorts will be based on tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) expression either on diagnostic or post treatment biopsy. Patients with tumours with TILs score ≤20% are considered “non-immunogenic” They will be stratified according to HRD status and allocated to receive a cell cycle checkpoint inhibitor + olaparib. Patients with a TILs score &gt;20% are considered “immunogenic” and will be allocated to receive an immune checkpoint inhibitor with olaparib or a cell cycle checkpoint inhibitor.

Primary outcome measure is pCR / MRD rate at surgery after the administration of 2 cycles / 8 weeks of a combination of new agents. The rate of conversion to pCR/MRD will be correlated with TC, TILs, BRCA and homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) status, Ki67% and previous olaparib treatment.

Progress: The PARTNERING pathway in the PARTNER trial will be open late 2018.

Citation Format: Abraham JE, Vallier A-L, Qian W, Machin A, Grybowicz L, Thomas S, Weiss M, Harvey C, McAdam K, Hughes-Davies L, Roberts A, Provenzano E, Pinilla K, Roylance R, Copson E, Armstrong A, McMurtry E, Tischkowitz M, Earl HM. PARTNERING / PARTNER : Phase II sub-study to establish if the addition of combinations of new agents (olaparib, cell cycle and immune checkpoint inhibitors) can improve the rate of pathological complete response (pCR) and minimal residual disease (MRD) in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and / or germline BRCA mutated (gBRCAm) patients with evidence of residual disease after PARTNER therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr OT3-01-02.

Abstract P3-03-07: Withdrawn

This abstract was withdrawn by the authors.

Citation Format: Benson JR, Gnanakumar S, Dumitru D, Provenzano E. Withdrawn [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-03-07.

Abstract P3-06-01: Clonal evolution and heterogeneity in breast tumors treated with neoadjuvant HER2-targeted therapy

Background: Understanding to what extent a breast tumor's genetic composition may change over the course of a few months of neoadjuvant therapy has implications for optimal therapeutic approach. However, genomic changes observed across treatment may result from either treatment-induced clonal evolution or geographically disparate sampling of a heterogeneous tumor. We sought to characterize the geographic heterogeneity in primary breast tumors, and to incorporate this information into analysis of clonal evolution with neoadjuvant therapy.

Methods: We assembled the largest cohort to date of multi-region (n=2-3) whole-exome sequenced (WES) or whole-genome sequenced untreated primary breast tumors with matched normal and adequate tumor purity for analysis: four tumors with data generated for this study and five tumors compiled from three previous studies. We also generated the first cohort of multi-region (n=2-6) WES breast tumors post-neoadjuvant HER2-targeted therapy and chemotherapy, sequencing one region from a pre-treatment diagnostic specimen, multiple regions from the post-treatment surgical specimen, and matched normal for five HER2+ breast tumors that did not achieve a pathologic complete response. We used an agent-based model of spatial tumor growth to investigate whether the mutational patterns we observed with treatment were consistent with pre-existing heterogeneity or treatment-induced selection.

Results: In untreated primary breast tumors, on average 30% (range 1-70%) of apparently clonal mutations from a single region were absent or rare in a second, spatially disparate region (high-frequency regional, or HFR). Intra-tumor heterogeneity was similar post-treatment (HFR 28%, range 10-54%), and was higher in breast tumors than in previously analyzed colon, brain, lung, and esophageal tumors. Simulation studies confirmed that with high heterogeneity as observed in breast tumors, analysis of one pre-treatment and one post-treatment region could not distinguish treatment-induced clonal evolution from pre-existing heterogeneity; however, obtaining at least two post-treatment regions allowed for detection of clonal shifts with treatment. Analysis of multi-region data revealed that clonal replacement occurred with neoadjuvant therapy in two of the five tumors. Candidate causes of therapeutic resistance included amplifications in CCND1, ERBB4, and MYC in one subclone, and functional protein-altering mutations in ERCC2, SMO, and WT1 in another. Mathematical modeling suggested that these putative resistant subclones comprised 0.02-12.5% of the overall pre-treatment cell population, substantially larger than previous estimates of resistant tumor clone size.

Conclusions: WES data from multiple regions of untreated and treated primary breast tumors revealed considerable heterogeneity that remained present throughout treatment with chemotherapy and HER2-targeted therapy, even while major clonal sweeps took place in a minority of tumors. Obtaining at least two samples for analysis from breast tumors post-neoadjuvant therapy may reveal the tumor's evolutionary path and, especially as increasing numbers of molecular and immune therapeutic targets are identified, inform new clinical strategies.

Citation Format: Caswell-Jin JL, McNamara K, Reiter JG, Sun R, Hu Z, Ma Z, Suarez CJ, Tilk S, Raghavendra A, Forte V, Chin S-F, Bardwell H, Provenzano E, Caldas C, Lang J, West R, Tripathy D, Press MF, Curtis C. Clonal evolution and heterogeneity in breast tumors treated with neoadjuvant HER2-targeted therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-06-01.

Abstract OT3-03-03: PARTNER: Randomised, phase II/III trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the addition of olaparib to platinum-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy in triple negative and/or germline BRCA mutated breast cancer patients

Background: No specific targeted therapies are available for Triple Negative Breast Cancers (TNBC), an aggressive and diverse subgroup. The basal TNBC sub-group share some phenotypic and molecular similarities with germline BRCA (gBRCA) tumours. In gBRCA patients, and potentially other homologous recombination deficiencies, these already compromised pathways may allow drugs called PARP inhibitors (Olaparib) to work more effectively. Aims: To establish if the addition of olaparib to neoadjuvant platinum based chemotherapy for basal TNBC and/or gBRCA breast cancer is safe and improves efficacy (pathological complete response (pCR)).

Methods: Trial design: 3-stage open label randomised phase II/III trial of neoadjuvant paclitaxel and carboplatin +/- olaparib, followed by clinicians' choice of anthracycline regimen. Stage 1 and 2: Randomisation (1:1:1) to either control (3 weekly carboplatin AUC5/weekly paclitaxel 80mg/m2 for 4 cycles) or one of two research arms with the same chemotherapy regimen but with two different schedules of olaparib 150mg BD for 12 days. Stage 3: Patients are randomised (1:1) to either control arm or to the research arm selected in stage 2. End-points: Stage 1: Safety; Stage 2: Schedule selection using pCR rate and completion rate of olaparib using a “pick-the-winner” design. Stage 3: pCR rate. Enrichment design is applied with an overall significance level 0.05(α) and 80% power. A total of 527 patients will be included to detect an absolute improvement of 15% (all patients) and 20% (gBRCA patients) by adding olaparib to platinum based chemotherapy.

Trial Progress: PARTNER has been recruiting in UK since 27th May 2016. IDSMC recommended to continue the trial without change after reviewing the Stage 1 safety data. The recruitment of stage 2 was completed in April 2018 and results to be reviewed by the IDSMC in early 2019. The trial is open and enrolling patients to national and international sites.

Citation Format: Abraham J, Vallier A-L, Qian W, Machin A, Grybowicz L, Thomas S, Weiss M, Harvey C, McAdam K, Hughes-Davies L, Roberts A, Roylance R, Copson E, Pinilla K, Armstrong A, Provenzano E, Tischkowitz M, McMurty E, Earl H. PARTNER: Randomised, phase II/III trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the addition of olaparib to platinum-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy in triple negative and/or germline BRCA mutated breast cancer patients [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr OT3-03-03.

Abstract GS3-06: Dynamics of breast cancer relapse reveal molecularly defined late recurring ER-positive subgroups: Results from the METABRIC study

Background: Recent studies have demonstrated that women with early stage ER-positive (ER+) and HER2-negative (HER2-) breast cancer have a persistent risk of recurrence and cancer related death up to 20 years post diagnosis, highlighting the chronic nature of ER+ breast cancer and critical need to identify tumor characteristics that are more predictive of risk of recurrence than standard clinical covariates. However, progress in delineating the dynamics of breast cancer relapse and biomarkers of late recurrence has been hindered by the lack of large cohorts with long-term clinical follow-up and molecular information.

Methods: We report the results of a cohort of 3,240 breast cancer patients from the United Kingdom and Canada with 20 years of follow-up (median 9.75 years), including 1,980 with accompanying molecular data from the primary breast tumor. Information for each patient on loco-regional recurrence (LR), distant recurrence (DR), and site(s) of metastases was collected. We developed a non-homogenous Markov chain model that accounted for different clinical endpoints and timescales, as well as competing risks of mortality and the distinct baseline hazards that characterize different molecular subgroups. This approach enabled robust analysis of the spatio-temporal dynamics of breast cancer recurrence across the clinical subgroups, PAM50 subgroups and the integrative clusters, while also enabling individual risk of relapse predictions.

Results: We employed our multistate model to compute the probability of experiencing a LR or DR, as well as the baseline transition probabilities from surgery, LR or DR at various time intervals for average individuals in each of the clinical/molecular subgroups. These analyses reveal four late-recurring ER+ (predominantly HER2-) subgroups, together accounting for 26% of all ER+ tumors, with high (median 42-55%) risk of recurrence up to 20 years post-diagnosis. Each of these four subgroups maps to one of the Integrative Clusters, defined based on genomic copy number alterations and gene expression, and is enriched for a characteristic copy number amplification events: 11q13 (CCND1, RSF1), 8p12 (FGFR1, ZNF703), 17q23 (RPS6KB1) and 8q24 (MYC). These four molecular subgroups are superior in predicting late DR than standard clinical variables.

Conclusions: A detailed understanding of the rates and routes of metastasis and their variability across the distinct molecular subtypes is essential for devising personalized approaches to breast cancer care. We describe a molecularly characterized breast cancer cohort with long-term clinical follow-up and a statistical modeling framework, enabling delineation of the dynamics of breast cancer recurrence at unprecedented resolution. These analyses reveal four late recurring ER+ subgroups and accompanying biomarkers that collectively define the quarter of ER+ cases at highest risk of recurrence. Our findings highlight opportunities for improved patient stratification and biomarker-driven clinical trials directed at the subset of breast cancer patients with persistent risk of recurrence.

Citation Format: Curtis C, Rueda OM, Sammut S-J, Chin S-F, Caswell-Jin JL, Seoane JA, Callari M, Batra R, Pereira B, Bruna A, Ali HR, Provenzano E, Liu B, Parisien M, Gillett C, McKinney S, Green A, Murphy L, Purushotham A, Ellis I, Pharoah P, Rueda C, Aparicio S, Caldas C. Dynamics of breast cancer relapse reveal molecularly defined late recurring ER-positive subgroups: Results from the METABRIC study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr GS3-06.

Disease-free and overall survival at 3.5 years for neoadjuvant bevacizumab added to docetaxel followed by fluorouracil, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide, for women with HER2 negative early breast cancer: ARTemis Trial

Background

The ARTemis trial previously reported that addition of neoadjuvant bevacizumab (Bev) to docetaxel (D) followed by fluorouracil, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide (D-FEC) in HER2 negative breast cancer improved the pathological complete response (pCR) rate. We present disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) with central pathology review.

Patients and methods

Patients were randomized to 3 cycles of D followed by 3 cycles of FEC (D-FEC), ±4 cycles of Bev (Bev + D-FEC). DFS and OS were analyzed by treatment and by central pathology reviewed pCR and Residual Cancer Burden (RCB) class.

Results

A total of 800 patients were randomized [median follow-up 3.5 years (IQR 3.2–4.4)]. DFS and OS were similar across treatment arms [DFS hazard ratio (HR)=1.18 (95% CI 0.89–1.57), P = 0.25; OS HR = 1.26 (95% CI 0.90–1.76), P = 0.19). Both local pathology report review and central histopathology review confirmed a significant improvement in DFS and OS for patients who achieved a pCR [DFS HR = 0.38 (95% CI 0.23–0.63), P < 0.001; OS HR = 0.43 (95% CI 0.24–0.75), P = 0.003]. However, significant heterogeneity was observed (P = 0.02); larger improvements in DFS were obtained with a pCR achieved with D-FEC than a pCR achieved with Bev + D-FEC. As RCB class increased, significantly worse DFS and OS was observed (P for trend <0.0001), which effect was most marked in the ER negative group.

Conclusions

The addition of short course neoadjuvant Bev to standard chemotherapy did not demonstrate a DFS or OS benefit. Achieving a pCR with D-FEC is associated with improved DFS and OS but not when pCR is achieved with Bev + D-FEC. At the present time therefore, Bev is not recommended in early breast cancer.

ClinicalTrials.gov number

NCT01093235.

Associations between genomic stratification of breast cancer and centrally reviewed tumour pathology in the METABRIC cohort

The integration of genomic and transcriptomic profiles of 2000 breast tumours from the METABRIC [Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium] cohort revealed ten subtypes, termed integrative clusters (IntClust/s), characterised by distinct genomic drivers. Central histopathology (N = 1643) review was undertaken to explore the relationship between these ten molecular subtypes and traditional clinicopathological features. IntClust subtypes were significantly associated with histological type, tumour grade, receptor status, and lymphocytic infiltration (p < 0.0001). Lymph node status and Nottingham Prognostic Index [NPI] categories were also significantly associated with IntClust subtype. IntClust 3 was enriched for tubular and lobular carcinomas, the latter largely accounting for the association with CDH1 mutations in this cluster. Mucinous carcinomas were not present in IntClusts 5 or 10, but did not show an association with any of the remaining IntClusts. In contrast, medullary-like cancers were associated with IntClust 10 (15/26). Hormone receptor-positive tumours were scattered across all IntClusts. IntClust 5 was dominated by HER2 positivity (127/151), including both hormone receptor-positive (60/72) and hormone receptor-negative tumours (67/77). Triple-negative tumours comprised the majority of IntClust 10 (132/159) and around a quarter of IntClust 4 (52/217). Whilst the ten IntClust subtypes of breast cancer show characteristic patterns of association with traditional clinicopathological variables, no IntClust can be adequately identified by these variables alone. Hence, the addition of genomic stratification has the potential to enhance the biological relevance of the current clinical evaluation and facilitate genome-guided therapeutic strategies.

Abstract OT3-04-03: PARTNER randomised, phase II/III trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the addition of olaparib to platinum based neoadjuvant chemotherapy in triple negative and/or germline BRCA mutated breast cancer patients

Background: No specific targeted therapies are available for Triple Negative Breast Cancers (TNBC), an aggressive and diverse subgroup. The basal TNBC subgroup show some phenotypic and molecular similarities with germline BRCA (gBRCA). In gBRCA patients, and potentially other homologous recombination deficiencies, these already compromised pathways may allow drugs called PARP inhibitors (olaparib) to work more effectively.

Aims: To establish if the addition of olaparib to neoadjuvant platinum based chemotherapy for basal TNBC and/or gBRCA breast cancer is safe and improves efficacy (pathological complete response (pCR)).

Trial design: 3 stage open label randomised phase II/III trial of neoadjuvant paclitaxel and carboplatin +/olaparib, followed by clinicians' choice of anthracycline regimen.

Stage 1 and 2: Patients are randomised (1:1:1) to either control (3 weekly carboplatin AUC5/weekly paclitaxel 80mg/m2 for 4 cycles) or one of two research arms with the same chemotherapy regimen but with two different schedules of olaparib 150mg BD for 12 days.

Stage 3: Patients are randomised (1:1) to either control arm or to the research arm selected in stage 2.

Methods:

Stage 1 Safety: both research arms combined.

Stage 2 Schedule selection criteria: pCR rate and completion rate of olaparib protocol treatment. It is a “pickthewinner” design with 53 patients in each research arm. This allows a 90% power, 5% onesided significance level to test null hypothesis of pCR ≤35% versus an alternative hypothesis of pCR ≥55% in each of the research arms.

Stage 3 Efficacy:anticipated pCR ˜55-60% for all trial patients and ˜60-65% for gBRCA patients. The trial is powered to detect an absolute improvement of 15% (all patients) and 20% (gBRCA patients) by adding olaparib to chemotherapy (enriched design). TNBC patient recruitment will be capped, to ensure required gBRCA patients are enrolled. Enrichment design is applied with overall significance level 0.05(α) = 0.025(αall)+ 0.025(αgBRCA) and 80% power.

Target accrual: 527 [gBRCA 220] Current accrual: 56 Sites activated: 15 [expected number of sites 30-50].

Citation Format: Abraham J, Vallier A-L, Qian W, Grybowicz L, Thomas S, Machin A, Harvey C, Chiu E, McAdam K, Hughes-Davies L, Roylance R, Copson E, Armstrong A, Provenzano E, Tischkowitz M, McMurtry E, Earl H. PARTNER randomised, phase II/III trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the addition of olaparib to platinum based neoadjuvant chemotherapy in triple negative and/or germline BRCA mutated breast cancer patients [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr OT3-04-03.

Lymphocyte density determined by computational pathology validated as a predictor of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer: secondary analysis of the ARTemis trial

BACKGROUND

We have previously shown lymphocyte density, measured using computational pathology, is associated with pathological complete response (pCR) in breast cancer. The clinical validity of this finding in independent studies, among patients receiving different chemotherapy, is unknown.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The ARTemis trial randomly assigned 800 women with early stage breast cancer between May 2009 and January 2013 to three cycles of docetaxel, followed by three cycles of fluorouracil, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide once every 21 days with or without four cycles of bevacizumab. The primary endpoint was pCR (absence of invasive cancer in the breast and lymph nodes). We quantified lymphocyte density within haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) whole slide images using our previously described computational pathology approach: for every detected lymphocyte the average distance to the nearest 50 lymphocytes was calculated and the density derived from this statistic. We analyzed both pre-treatment biopsies and post-treatment surgical samples of the tumour bed.

RESULTS

Of the 781 patients originally included in the primary endpoint analysis of the trial, 609 (78%) were included for baseline lymphocyte density analyses and a subset of 383 (49% of 781) for analyses of change in lymphocyte density. The main reason for loss of patients was the availability of digitized whole slide images. Pre-treatment lymphocyte density modelled as a continuous variable was associated with pCR on univariate analysis (odds ratio [OR], 2.92; 95% CI, 1.78-4.85; P < 0.001) and after adjustment for clinical covariates (OR, 2.13; 95% CI, 1.24-3.67; P = 0.006). Increased pre- to post-treatment lymphocyte density showed an independent inverse association with pCR (adjusted OR, 0.1; 95% CI, 0.033-0.31; P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Lymphocyte density in pre-treatment biopsies was validated as an independent predictor of pCR in breast cancer. Computational pathology is emerging as a viable and objective means of identifying predictive biomarkers for cancer patients.

CLINICALTRIALS.GOV

NCT01093235.

Abstract P1-11-09: The impact of a change in margin width on rates of re-excision following breast conserving surgery

Background: Surgical margin status is a predictor of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence but the definition of an adequate surgical margin following breast conserving surgery (BCS) remains controversial despite published recommendations for acceptance of 'no tumor at ink'. BCS can be compromised by the need for a re-excision procedure which incurs inconvenience to patients and additional healthcare costs. We have previously shown that reducing the margin mandate from 5mm to 2mm does not influence rates of re-excision and the impact of adopting a more stringent margin policy of 'no tumor at ink' is now reported.

Methods:A retrospective analysis examined rates of re-excision amongst patients undergoing BCS for both invasive carcinoma with or without admixed ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or pure DCIS over two sequential 12 month time periods either prior to (GROUP 1; n=225) or immediately following (GROUP 2; n=238) a change in minimum margin policy from 2mm to 'no tumor at ink' when the latter was deemed an adequate definition of a negative margin. A total of 611 patients underwent non-reconstructive breast surgery for symptomatic and screen-detected cancers during these time periods among whom 463 received BCS. Wire-localization was undertaken in 51% (114/225) and 42% (101/238) of patients in groups 1 and 2 respectively. Data was extracted from electronic patient records of histopathology reports and clinic letters with further information available from documentation of MDT discussions. Statistical analysis used Fisher-Exact test.

Results: Rates of re-excision were significantly lower for group 2 (32/238=13%) compared with group 1 48/225=21%). Re-excision encompassed cavity re-excision alone, cavity re-excision followed by mastectomy and completion mastectomy. Residual disease in re-excision specimens was significantly higher for group 2 (40.6%) compared with group 1 (16.6%) [p=0.02] with more than one-third of cases of residual disease in group 2 being exclusively DCIS. Three patients in each group required 2 additional operations to achieve negative margins. For groups 1 and 2, three-quarters or more cases (87% and 77% respectively) had only 1 or two margins positive and 2 cases in group 2 were re-excised for reasons other than a positive margin (e.g. tumor type). For group 1, re-excision cases were prompted by margin categories of 0mm (n=22), &lt;1mm (n=18) and ≥1mm; &lt;2mm (n=8) whilst for group 2 all re-excisions were prompted by tumor at ink (0mm). A hypothetical minimum margin of 1mm would have reduced the re-excision rate for group 1 to 40/225 or 17.7%.

Conclusion: Re-excision was usually prompted by margins of &lt;2mm when a 5mm margin policy prevailed. A more relaxed margin mandate of 'no tumor at ink' has led to halving of re-excision rates from 21% to 13% as opposed to 17.7% for a minimum margin of 1mm. This reduction in rates of re-excision is accompanied by an increase in the proportion of cases with residual disease in re-operation specimens. Longer-term follow up is essential to monitor in-breast local recurrence.

Citation Format: Jiwa NE, Ayyar S, Provenzano E, Benson JR. The impact of a change in margin width on rates of re-excision following breast conserving surgery [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-11-09.

Abstract OT2-01-15: PARTNER - Randomised, phase II/III trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the addition of olaparib to platinum-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy in triple negative and/or germline BRCA mutated breast cancer patients

Background: Triple Negative Breast Cancers (TNBC) are a biologically diverse and aggressive sub-group. Early effective treatment can lead to cure. Current standard treatment is systemic chemotherapy either pre-/post-definitive surgery. No specific targeted therapies are available for TNBC. There are phenotypic and molecular similarities between germline BRCA (gBRCA) breast cancer and TNBC. In TNBC 10%-20% harbour gBRCA mutations. In gBRCA patients, and potentially other homologous recombination deficiencies, these already compromised pathways allow drugs called PARP inhibitors (olaparib) to work particularly effectively.

Aims: To establish if the addition of olaparib to neoadjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy for TNBC and/or gBRCA breast cancer is safe and improves efficacy.

Trial design: 3-stage open label randomised phase II/III trial of neoadjuvant olaparib +/- platinum containing chemotherapy followed by clinicians' choice of anthracycline regimen. Stage 1 and 2, patients are randomised (1:1:1) to either control (3 weekly carboplatin AUC5/weekly paclitaxel 80mg/m2 chemotherapy - 4 cycles) or one of two research arms which uses the same chemotherapy regimen but with two different schedules of olaparib 150mg BD). Stage 3: patients are randomised (1:1) to either control arm or to the research arm selected in stage 2.

Primary outcome measures:

Stage 1: safety of the addition of olaparib to chemotherapy. Prophylactic G-CSF is mandatory.

Stage 2: pathological complete response (pCR) in each of the two research arms. At the end of stage 2, one of the research arms will be dropped.

Stage 3: pCR at surgery after neoadjuvant treatment. pCR - defined as no residual invasive carcinoma within the breast (ductal carcinoma in situ permitted) AND no evidence of metastatic disease within the lymph nodes.

Eligibility:

•Aged 16 to 70.

•Written informed consent.

•Histologically confirmed invasive breast cancer.

•Clinical stage T1-4 N0-2 (tumour or metastatic node diameter&gt;10mm)

•Confirmed ER-negative and HER2-negative or gBRCA mutation positive, irrespective of hormone status.

•Performance Status 0-1

Statistical Methods: Stage 1, Safety: both research arms combined. Stage 2, Schedule selection criteria: pCR rate and completion rate of olaparib protocol treatment. It is a “pick-the winner” design with 53 patients in each research arm. This allows a 90% power, 5% one-sided significance level to test null hypothesis of pCR ≤35% versus an alternative hypothesis of pCR ≥55% in each of the research arms.

Stage 3, Efficacy: anticipated pCR ∼45-55% for all trial patients and ∼50-60% for gBRCA patients. The trial is powered to detect an absolute improvement of 15% (all patients) and 20% (gBRCA patients) by adding olaparib to chemotherapy (enriched design). TNBC patient recruitment will be capped, to ensure the required number of gBRCA patients are enrolled. Enrichment design is applied with the overall significance level 0.05(α)=0.025(αall)+ 0.025(αgBRCA) and 80% power.

Present accrual: 1 [Trial opened: 23rd May 2016]

Target accrual: 527 (TNBC 307; gBRCA 220)

Contact information: Dr. Jean Abraham; Email: ja344@medschl.cam.ac.uk.

Citation Format: Abraham JE, Vallier A-L, Qian W, Grybowicz L, Thomas S, Mahmud S, Harvey C, McAdam K, Hughes-Davies L, Roylance R, Copson E, Brown J, Provenzano E, Tischkowitz M, Earl HM. PARTNER - Randomised, phase II/III trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the addition of olaparib to platinum-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy in triple negative and/or germline BRCA mutated breast cancer patients [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr OT2-01-15.

Abstract P1-11-03: Rates of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR) following breast concerving surgery (BCS) and hypofractionated radiotherapy for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)

Background: The risk of IBTR following BCS for DCIS is dependent on both tumor and treatment-related factors including surgical margin width and adjuvant therapies. Management strategies should be risk stratified to avoid over/under-treatment with radiotherapy and endocrine therapy. De-escalation of treatments with safe omission of adjuvant therapies may demand a minimum margin of surgical clearance for non-high grade and selected high grade lesions.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was undertaken to examine rates of IBTR among patients undergoing BCS for core biopsy-proven DCIS between 1999 and 2010 when a minimum margin width of 5mm prevailed. The local institutional database identified 1260 DCIS cases with or without an invasive component among whom 323 had pure DCIS diagnosed mainly on screening (&gt;90%). A total of 176 patients were treated with BCS alone (27.5%) or combined with breast radiotherapy [15 fractions of 2.67Gy to total dose of 40Gy without boost]. No patients received any form of hormonal therapy (tamoxifen/aromatase inhibitor). Ten patients died from non-breast cancer causes prior to development of IBTR leaving 167 unilateral and 1 bilateral patient (i.e. 168 cases) for analysis with high (72%), intermediate (17.8%) and low (9%) grade DCIS (or ungradeable).

Results: At a median follow up of 126 months (range 46 – 180) a total of 14 patients have developed IBTR as a first event (8.33%). Approximately half of these were non-invasive (n= 8) and half invasive (n=6). Half of DCIS recurrences (4/8) occurred in the first 12 months following surgery and all recurrent DCIS cases were manifest by 3 years compared with a steady recurrence of invasive disease up to 10 years of follow up. One case of invasive disease died from subsequent distant metastases with visceral deposits. There was no significant difference in rates of recurrence with (9/121) or without (5/46) irradiation (p=0.534). Among the 14 recurrent cases, 12 had conformal radial margins of 5mm whilst 2 cases had single minimum margins of 3mm and 2mm (accepted without re-excision due to advanced age, co-morbidity or lesion at edge of breast tissue). Characterization of molecular profiles (ER, HER2, Ki-67) for recurrent cases is ongoing.

Conclusion: These rates of local control with a target margin of 5mm and selective hypofractionated breast radiotherapy are consistent with published IBTR rates of approximately 1% per annum for DCIS patients treated with BCS and radiotherapy. Routine inclusion of hormonal therapy may be unnecessary for many patients receiving adjuvant radiotherapy with comparable 10 year recurrence rates of 7 - 8% reported in the International Breast Intervention Study (IBIS)-II.""Background: The risk of IBTR following BCS for DCIS is dependent on both tumor and treatment-related factors including surgical margin width and adjuvant therapies. Management strategies should be risk stratified to avoid over/under-treatment with radiotherapy and endocrine therapy. De-escalation of treatments with safe omission of adjuvant therapies may demand a minimum margin of surgical clearance for non-high grade and selected high grade lesions.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was undertaken to examine rates of IBTR among patients undergoing BCS for core biopsy-proven DCIS between 1999 and 2010 when a minimum margin width of 5mm prevailed. The local institutional database identified 1260 DCIS cases with or without an invasive component among whom 323 had pure DCIS diagnosed mainly on screening (&gt;90%). A total of 176 patients were treated with BCS alone (27.5%) or combined with breast radiotherapy [15 fractions of 2.67Gy to total dose of 40Gy without boost]. No patients received any form of hormonal therapy (tamoxifen/aromatase inhibitor). Ten patients died from non-breast cancer causes prior to development of IBTR leaving 167 unilateral and 1 bilateral patient (i.e. 168 cases) for analysis with high (72%), intermediate (17.8%) and low (9%) grade DCIS (or ungradeable).

Results: At a median follow up of 126 months (range 46 – 180) a total of 14 patients have developed IBTR as a first event (8.33%). Approximately half of these were non-invasive (n= 8) and half invasive (n=6). Half of DCIS recurrences (4/8) occurred in the first 12 months following surgery and all recurrent DCIS cases were manifest by 3 years compared with a steady recurrence of invasive disease up to 10 years of follow up. One case of invasive disease died from subsequent distant metastases with visceral deposits. There was no significant difference in rates of recurrence with (9/121) or without (5/46) irradiation (p=0.534). Among the 14 recurrent cases, 12 had conformal radial margins of 5mm whilst 2 cases had single minimum margins of 3mm and 2mm (accepted without re-excision due to advanced age, co-morbidity or lesion at edge of breast tissue). Characterization of molecular profiles (ER, HER2, Ki-67) for recurrent cases is ongoing.

Conclusion: These rates of local control with a target margin of 5mm and selective hypofractionated breast radiotherapy are consistent with published IBTR rates of approximately 1% per annum for DCIS patients treated with BCS and radiotherapy. Routine inclusion of hormonal therapy may be unnecessary for many patients receiving adjuvant radiotherapy with comparable 10 year recurrence rates of 7 - 8% reported in the International Breast Intervention Study (IBIS)-II.

Citation Format: Dumitru D, Benson J, Wishart G, Provenzano E. Rates of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR) following breast concerving surgery (BCS) and hypofractionated radiotherapy for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-11-03.

Weibull regression with Bayesian variable selection to identify prognostic tumour markers of breast cancer survival

As data-rich medical datasets are becoming routinely collected, there is a growing demand for regression methodology that facilitates variable selection over a large number of predictors. Bayesian variable selection algorithms offer an attractive solution, whereby a sparsity inducing prior allows inclusion of sets of predictors simultaneously, leading to adjusted effect estimates and inference of which covariates are most important. We present a new implementation of Bayesian variable selection, based on a Reversible Jump MCMC algorithm, for survival analysis under the Weibull regression model. A realistic simulation study is presented comparing against an alternative LASSO-based variable selection strategy in datasets of up to 20,000 covariates. Across half the scenarios, our new method achieved identical sensitivity and specificity to the LASSO strategy, and a marginal improvement otherwise. Runtimes were comparable for both approaches, taking approximately a day for 20,000 covariates. Subsequently, we present a real data application in which 119 protein-based markers are explored for association with breast cancer survival in a case cohort of 2287 patients with oestrogen receptor-positive disease. Evidence was found for three independent prognostic tumour markers of survival, one of which is novel. Our new approach demonstrated the best specificity.

Treatment of Psoriasis Vulgaris with Calcipotriol Betamethasone Dipropionate Combination Followed by Calcipotriol and Assessment of the Adjuvant Basic Use of Urea-Based Emollients

A new combination product containing betamethasone dipropionate and calcipotriol (Dovobet® ointment) has been proven very effective and well tolerated in patients with psoriasis vulgaris. Emollients are adjunctive modalities commonly used in psoriasis; however, their actual role in combination with topical drugs as well as well as their compatibility with these drugs have not been well elucidated. In 313 adult patients with psoriasis vulgaris, we studied the efficacy and tolerability of treatment with Dovobet® ointment combined with urea-based emollients (Excipial U®) for 4 weeks, followed by treatment with calcipotriol (Daivonex®) either alone (group A) or combined with urea-containing emollients (Excipial U®, group B) for 8 weeks. Clinical evaluations were performed at baseline, at 4 and 12 weeks, assessing the clinical score for erythema, scaling, infiltration and pruritus, graded on the basis of a 5-point scale. After the initial 4-week treatment, a significant improvement of all clinical parameters was observed (p<0.05). Overall, clinical results improved further during the maintenance treatment phase; significant changes (p<0.05) were observed in each group. Most patients considered treatment efficacy positively at both 4 weeks and 12 weeks. Interestingly, at the end of the study, a greater percentage of patients in group B than in group A judged the efficacy as excellent. Treatment was very well tolerated. Only two patients complained of mild and transient burning sensation during the first days of treatment. The results of this study confirm the great efficacy and tolerability of sequential treatment with Dovobet®, and Daivonex® in psoriasis vulgaris and show the enhanced acceptability of this treatment associated with urea-based emollients.

Abstract P3-01-01: Fluorescence navigation system using indocyanine green (ICG) instead of radioisotope for sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy in early breast cancer

Background: Dual localisation methods with blue dye and radioisotope are commonly employed for SLN identification but potential drawbacks include allergic reactions, staining of cutaneous/surgical breast tissue, radiation exposure and mandatory licencing. A majority of studies have reported near 100% identification rates using the fluorescent tracer ICG in combination with standard tracer agents. A feasibility study (ICG-10) has confirmed high sensitivity of ICG fluorescence mapping for SLN detection in early breast cancer with 95% of nodes both blue and fluorescent. This follow-on study has specifically evaluated a combination of ICG with blue dye for SLN localization.

Methods: As an observational cohort study, 50 consecutive patients (49 female; 1 male) with core biopsy proven unilateral invasive (37 cases) or non-invasive (13 cases) breast cancer underwent SLN biopsy with blue dye and ICG. All patients were clinically and sonographically node negative. Axillary surgery (SLN biopsy) followed neoadjuvant chemotherapy in 5 patients (10%). The median patient age was 48 years and for primary surgical patients median tumor size was 19mm. Patients received a dual peri-areolar/intradermal injection of blue dye [2ml 2.5% Patent Blue] and ICG [2mls 0.5%] after induction of anaesthesia. The number of sentinel nodes for each patient was recorded numerically and whether blue, fluorescent or both. Subcutaneous lymphatics were visualised with a photodynamic eye camera and nodal and procedural detection rates calculated for ICG alone and in combination with blue dye.

Results: Final analysis was performed on a total of 87 nodes retrieved from 50 patients with an average nodal count of 1.8 per patient (range 1 – 4). Eighty-four nodes were blue and fluorescent and 3 nodes fluorescent only with no harvesting of non-blue, non-fluorescent nodes. At least one transcutaneous lymphatic channel was visible in all cases. Nodal detection rates for ICG alone and combined with blue dye were 100% (87/87) and 96% (84/87) respectively. Metastases (&gt;0.2mm) were present in 18 nodes which were all blue and fluorescent and a total of 10 patients had at least one positive node (node positivity rate = 20%). The procedural detection rate was 96% (48/50) for blue dye and 100% (50/50) for ICG with 2 patients having fluorescent only nodes which were deemed sentinel (4%). No serious adverse reactions were noted.

Conclusion: ICG fluorescence navigation system permits real-time visualization of lymphatic tissues and provides an additional dimension to SLN biopsy using methodology which is sensitive, valuable and safe. These results confirm accuracy of ICG fluorescence for SLN identification with nodal sensitivity of 96% for a combination of blue dye and ICG. With further refinements of the technique, use of ICG as a sole tracer may be possible agent without concerns about excessive nodal yield but improved patient convenience and costs.

Citation Format: Benson JR, Pitsinis V, Provenzano E, Wishart GC. Fluorescence navigation system using indocyanine green (ICG) instead of radioisotope for sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy in early breast cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-01-01.

PD-L1 protein expression in breast cancer is rare, enriched in basal-like tumours and associated with infiltrating lymphocytes

BACKGROUND

Expression of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) in solid tumours has been shown to predict whether patients are likely to respond to anti-PD-L1 therapies. To estimate the therapeutic potential of PD-L1 inhibition in breast cancer, we evaluated the prevalence and significance of PD-L1 protein expression in a large collection of breast tumours.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Correlations between CD274 (PD-L1) copy number, transcript and protein levels were evaluated in tumours from 418 patients recruited to the METABRIC genomic study. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect PD-L1 protein in breast tumours in tissue microarrays from 5763 patients recruited to the SEARCH population-based study (N = 4079) and the NEAT randomised, controlled trial (N = 1684).

RESULTS

PD-L1 protein data was available for 3916 of the possible 5763 tumours from the SEARCH and NEAT studies. PD-L1 expression by immune cells was observed in 6% (235/3916) of tumours and expression by tumour cells was observed in just 1.7% (66/3916). PD-L1 was most frequently expressed in basal-like tumours. This was observed both where tumours were subtyped by combined copy number and expression profiling [39% (17/44) of IntClust 10 i.e. basal-like tumours were PD-L1 immune cell positive; P < 0.001] and where a surrogate IHC-based classifier was used [19% (56/302) of basal-like tumours were PD-L1 immune cell positive; P < 0.001]. Moreover, CD274 (PD-L1) amplification was observed in five tumours of which four were IntClust 10. Expression of PD-L1 by either tumour cells or infiltrating immune cells was positively correlated with infiltration by both cytotoxic and regulatory T cells (P < 0.001). There was a nominally significant association between PD-L1 and improved disease-specific survival (hazard ratio 0.53, 95% confidence interval 0.26-1.07; P = 0.08) in ER-negative disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Expression of PD-L1 is rare in breast cancer, markedly enriched in basal-like tumours and is correlated with infiltrating lymphocytes. PD-L1 inhibition may benefit the 19% of patients with basal-like tumours in which the protein is expressed.

NEAT CLINICALTRIALSGOV

NCT00003577.

Recommendations for standardized pathological characterization of residual disease for neoadjuvant clinical trials of breast cancer by the BIG-NABCG collaboration

Neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NAST) provides the unique opportunity to assess response to treatment after months rather than years of follow-up. However, significant variability exists in methods of pathologic assessment of response to NAST, and thus its interpretation for subsequent clinical decisions. Our international multidisciplinary working group was convened by the Breast International Group-North American Breast Cancer Group (BIG-NABCG) collaboration and tasked to recommend practical methods for standardized evaluation of the post-NAST surgical breast cancer specimen for clinical trials that promote accurate and reliable designation of pathologic complete response (pCR) and meaningful characterization of residual disease. Recommendations include multidisciplinary communication; clinical marking of the tumor site (clips); and radiologic, photographic, or pictorial imaging of the sliced specimen, to map the tissue sections and reconcile macroscopic and microscopic findings. The information required to define pCR (ypT0/is ypN0 or ypT0 yp N0), residual ypT and ypN stage using the current AJCC/UICC system, and the Residual Cancer Burden system were recommended for quantification of residual disease in clinical trials.

The malignant phenotype in breast cancer is driven by eIF4A1-mediated changes in the translational landscape

Human mRNA DeXD/H-box helicases are ubiquitous molecular motors that are required for the majority of cellular processes that involve RNA metabolism. One of the most abundant is eIF4A, which is required during the initiation phase of protein synthesis to unwind regions of highly structured mRNA that would otherwise impede the scanning ribosome. Dysregulation of protein synthesis is associated with tumorigenesis, but little is known about the detailed relationships between RNA helicase function and the malignant phenotype in solid malignancies. Therefore, immunohistochemical analysis was performed on over 3000 breast tumors to investigate the relationship among expression of eIF4A1, the helicase-modulating proteins eIF4B, eIF4E and PDCD4, and clinical outcome. We found eIF4A1, eIF4B and eIF4E to be independent predictors of poor outcome in ER-negative disease, while in contrast, the eIF4A1 inhibitor PDCD4 was related to improved outcome in ER-positive breast cancer. Consistent with these data, modulation of eIF4A1, eIF4B and PCDC4 expression in cultured MCF7 cells all restricted breast cancer cell growth and cycling. The eIF4A1-dependent translatome of MCF7 cells was defined by polysome profiling, and was shown to be highly enriched for several classes of oncogenic genes, including G-protein constituents, cyclins and protein kinases, and for mRNAs with G/C-rich 5'UTRs with potential to form G-quadruplexes and with 3'UTRs containing microRNA target sites. Overall, our data show that dysregulation of mRNA unwinding contributes to the malignant phenotype in breast cancer via preferential translation of a class of genes involved in pro-oncogenic signaling at numerous levels. Furthermore, immunohistochemical tests are promising biomarkers for tumors sensitive to anti-helicase therapies.

Applications of natural compounds in the photodynamic therapy of skin cancer

Despite significant advances in early diagnosis and treatment, skin cancer is one of the leading causes of death. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a new therapeutic modality that is emerging as an important resource against malignant tumors. This strategy is based on the action of photosensitizers, i.e. of molecules which may accumulate preferentially inside tumor cells where they exert a cytotoxic effect after excitation by light at appropriate wavelengths. Some forms of skin cancers and also some non-tumor pathologies are now treated with PDT. Several compounds with photosensitizing activity have been identified, and some of these molecules are commercially available. Many photoactive principles are natural compounds. Numerous reviews in the last decade have focused on photodynamic therapy, its effects and applications, but less attention has been paid to plant extracts or molecules of natural origin studied for their phototoxic activity to date.This review critically examines the potential role of various plant extracts and naturally occurring compounds in the treatment of skin cancer. Both in vitro and in vivo effects of these agents, together with their known related cellular and molecular mechanisms, are presented and discussed.

Association between CD8+ T-cell infiltration and breast cancer survival in 12,439 patients

BACKGROUND

T-cell infiltration in estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast tumours has been associated with longer survival. To investigate this association and the potential of tumour T-cell infiltration as a prognostic and predictive marker, we have conducted the largest study of T cells in breast cancer to date.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Four studies totalling 12 439 patients were used for this work. Cytotoxic (CD8+) and regulatory (forkhead box protein 3, FOXP3+) T cells were quantified using immunohistochemistry (IHC). IHC for CD8 was conducted using available material from all four studies (8978 samples) and for FOXP3 from three studies (5239 samples)-multiple imputation was used to resolve missing data from the remaining patients. Cox regression was used to test for associations with breast cancer-specific survival.

RESULTS

In ER-negative tumours [triple-negative breast cancer and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive)], presence of CD8+ T cells within the tumour was associated with a 28% [95% confidence interval (CI) 16% to 38%] reduction in the hazard of breast cancer-specific mortality, and CD8+ T cells within the stroma with a 21% (95% CI 7% to 33%) reduction in hazard. In ER-positive HER2-positive tumours, CD8+ T cells within the tumour were associated with a 27% (95% CI 4% to 44%) reduction in hazard. In ER-negative disease, there was evidence for greater benefit from anthracyclines in the National Epirubicin Adjuvant Trial in patients with CD8+ tumours [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.54; 95% CI 0.37-0.79] versus CD8-negative tumours (HR = 0.87; 95% CI 0.55-1.38). The difference in effect between these subgroups was significant when limited to cases with complete data (P heterogeneity = 0.04) and approached significance in imputed data (P heterogeneity = 0.1).

CONCLUSIONS

The presence of CD8+ T cells in breast cancer is associated with a significant reduction in the relative risk of death from disease in both the ER-negative [supplementary Figure S1, available at Annals of Oncology online] and the ER-positive HER2-positive subtypes. Tumour lymphocytic infiltration may improve risk stratification in breast cancer patients classified into these subtypes. NEAT ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00003577.

Hypericum perforatum L. subsp. perforatum induces inhibition of free radicals and enhanced phototoxicity in human melanoma cells under ultraviolet light

OBJECTIVES

Our interest continues in discovering phytocomplexes from medicinal plants with phototoxic activity against human melanoma cells; thus the aim of the present study was to assess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and phototoxic activity of Hypericum perforatum L. subsp. perforatum, and relate these properties to the plant's chemical composition.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Components of H. perforatum subsp. perforatum were extracted by hydroalcoholic solution and chemical profiles of preparations (HyTE-3) performed by HPTLC. Linoleic acid peroxidation and DPPH tests were used to assess antioxidant activity, while MTT assay allowed evaluation of anti-proliferative activity with respect to A375 human melanoma cells after irradiation with UVA dose, 1.8 J/cm(2) . Inhibition of nitric oxide production of macrophages was also investigated.

RESULTS

HyTE-3 indicated better antioxidant activity with β-carotene bleaching test in comparison to DPPH assay (IC50 = 0.89 μg/ml); significant phototoxicity in A375 cells at 78 μg/ml concentration resulted in cell destruction of 50%. HyTE-3 caused significant dose-related inhibition of nitric oxide production in murine monocytic macrophage cell line RAW 264.7 with IC50 value of 342 μg/ml.

CONCLUSIONS

The H. perforatum subsp. perforatum-derived product was able to suppress proliferation of human malignant melanoma A375 cells; extract together with UVA irradiation enhanced phototoxicity. This biological activity of antioxidant effects was combined with inhibition of nitric oxide production.

Astronomical algorithms for automated analysis of tissue protein expression in breast cancer

BACKGROUND

High-throughput evaluation of tissue biomarkers in oncology has been greatly accelerated by the widespread use of tissue microarrays (TMAs) and immunohistochemistry. Although TMAs have the potential to facilitate protein expression profiling on a scale to rival experiments of tumour transcriptomes, the bottleneck and imprecision of manually scoring TMAs has impeded progress.

METHODS

We report image analysis algorithms adapted from astronomy for the precise automated analysis of IHC in all subcellular compartments. The power of this technique is demonstrated using over 2000 breast tumours and comparing quantitative automated scores against manual assessment by pathologists.

RESULTS

All continuous automated scores showed good correlation with their corresponding ordinal manual scores. For oestrogen receptor (ER), the correlation was 0.82, P<0.0001, for BCL2 0.72, P<0.0001 and for HER2 0.62, P<0.0001. Automated scores showed excellent concordance with manual scores for the unsupervised assignment of cases to 'positive' or 'negative' categories with agreement rates of up to 96%.

CONCLUSION

The adaptation of astronomical algorithms coupled with their application to large annotated study cohorts, constitutes a powerful tool for the realisation of the enormous potential of digital pathology.

A central review of histopathology reports after breast cancer neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the neo-tango trial

Background:

Neo-tAnGo, a National Cancer Research Network (NCRN) multicentre randomised neoadjuvant chemotherapy trial in early breast cancer, enroled 831 patients in the United Kingdom. We report a central review of post-chemotherapy histopathology reports on the surgical specimens, to assess the presence and degree of response.

Methods:

A central independent two-reader review (EP and HME) of histopathology reports from post-treatment surgical specimens was performed. The quality and completeness of pathology reporting across all centres was assessed. The reviews included pathological response to chemotherapy (pathological complete response (pCR); minimal residual disease (MRD); and lesser degrees of response), laterality, the number of axillary metastases and axillary nodes, and the type of surgery. A consensus was reached after discussion.

Results:

In all, 825 surgical reports from 816 patients were available for review. Out of 4125 data items there were 347 discrepant results (8.4% of classifications), which involved 281 patients. These involved grading of breast response (169 but only 9 involving pCR vs MRD); laterality (6); presence of axillary metastasis (35); lymph node counts (108); and type of axillary surgery (29). Excluding cases with pCR, only 45% of reports included any comment regarding response in the breast and 30% in the axillary lymph nodes.

Conclusion:

We found considerable variability in the completeness of reporting of surgical specimens within this national neoadjuvant breast cancer trial. This highlights the need for consensus guidelines among trial groups on histopathology reporting, and the participation of histopathologists throughout the development and analysis of neoadjuvant trials.

Pathological controversies in breast cancer: classification of ductal carcinoma in situ, sentinel lymph nodes and low volume metastatic disease and reporting of neoadjuvant chemotherapy specimens

The pathological classification of breast cancer is constantly being updated to reflect the advances in our clinical and biological understanding of the disease. This overview examines new insights into the classification and molecular biology of ductal carcinoma in situ, the pathological handling of sentinel lymph node biopsies and the identification of low volume disease (micrometastases and isolated tumour cells) and the handling and reporting of specimens after neoadjuvant therapy. The molecular subtypes of invasive breast cancer are also represented in ductal carcinoma in situ. It is hoped that alongside traditional histological features, such as cytological grade and the presence of necrosis, this will lead to better classification systems with improved prediction of clinical behaviour, in particular the risk of progression to invasive cancer, and enable more targeted management. Sentinel lymph node biopsy is now the standard of care for early stage breast cancer in clinically node-negative patients. However, the handling and reporting of these specimens remains controversial, largely related to the uncertainties regarding the clinical significance of micrometastases and isolated tumour cells. The increasing use of neoadjuvant therapies has introduced challenges for the pathologist in the handling and interpretation of these specimens. Grading the tumour response, particularly the identification of a complete pathological response, is prognostically important. However, there is still marked variability in reporting these specimens in routine practice, and consensus guidelines for the histopathology reporting of breast cancers after neoadjuvant chemotherapy based on robust, validated evidence are presently lacking.

Aurora kinase A outperforms Ki67 as a prognostic marker in ER-positive breast cancer

Background:

Proliferation has emerged as a major prognostic factor in luminal breast cancer. The immunohistochemical (IHC) proliferation marker Ki67 has been most extensively investigated but has not gained widespread clinical acceptance.

Methods:

We have conducted a head-to-head comparison of a panel of proliferation markers, including Ki67. Our aim was to establish the marker of the greatest prognostic utility. Tumour samples from 3093 women with breast cancer were constructed as tissue microarrays. We used IHC to detect expression of mini-chromosome maintenance protein 2, Ki67, aurora kinase A (AURKA), polo-like kinase 1, geminin and phospho-histone H3. We used a Cox proportional-hazards model to investigate the association with 10-year breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS). Missing values were resolved using multiple imputation.

Results:

The prognostic significance of proliferation was limited to oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. Aurora kinase A emerged as the marker of the greatest prognostic significance in a multivariate model adjusted for the standard clinical and molecular covariates (hazard ratio 1.3; 95% confidence interval 1.1–1.5; P=0.005), outperforming all other markers including Ki67.

Conclusion:

Aurora kinase A outperforms other proliferation markers as an independent predictor of BCSS in ER-positive breast cancer. It has the potential for use in routine clinical practice.

Evaluation of phototoxic potential of aerial components of the fig tree against human melanoma

OBJECTIVES

To date, Ficus carica L. cultivar Dottato (F. carica) has not been studied from a phototoxic point of view. In the present work, aerial components of F. carica from Italy, were examined to assess their antioxidant and phototoxic activity on human melanoma cells. A relationship between antioxidant, phototoxic activities and chemical composition has also been investigated.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Coumarin and fatty acid content in F. carica leaves, bark and woody parts were examined and compared by capillary GC and GC/MS. Polyphenolic content was also determined. Linoleic acid peroxidation and DPPH test were used to assess antioxidant activities, and MTT assay was used to evaluate anti-proliferative activity, on C32 human melanoma cells, after irradiation with a UVA dose of 1.08 J/cm(2).

RESULTS

Leaves demonstrated the best antioxidant and anti-proliferative activity in comparison to bark and wood. In particular, leaves were shown to possess the highest anti-radical activity and inhibition of peroxidation, with IC(50) values of 64 and 1.48 μg/ml respectively. The leaves had highest anti-proliferative activity with IC(50) value of 3.92 μg/ml. The phytochemical investigation revealed different composition between the coumarins, psoralen and bergapten, fatty acids, polyphenols and flavonoid content among plant parts.

CONCLUSIONS

Data obtained indicate that this type of fig tree may constitute an excellent source of bioactive compounds, such as phenolics, coumarins and fatty acids. This study offers a new perspective in developing others formulations potentially useful in photodynamic therapy for treatment of non-melanoma skin cancers.

Cachrys pungens Jan inhibits human melanoma cell proliferation through photo-induced cytotoxic activity

OBJECTIVE

To date, plants belonging to the genus Cachrys have not been amply studied. In the present study, aerial components of Cachrys pungens Jan from Italy, were examined to assess their free radical-scavenging and antioxidant activity, and their phototoxicity on A375 melanoma cells. In view of potential pharmaceutical applications, a relationship between antioxidant, phototoxic activities and polyphenolic composition has also been investigated.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Content of sterols, terpenes, fatty acids and coumarins was assessed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and GC. Total phenolic content was also determined. Antioxidant activity of the methanol extract and fractions of C. pungens Jan was assessed using DPPH scavenging assay and β-carotene bleaching test. Plant phototoxicity was also investigated in this human tumour cell line (amelanotic melanoma).

RESULTS

  Analysis of the chloroform extract was particularly interesting, as it led to identification of many coumarins, of which five were linear and one angular furanocoumarins. Methanol and ethyl acetate fractions exhibited substantial antioxidant activity. Moreover, chloroform extract and isolated coumarin fraction had strong phototoxic activity on UVA-induced A375 cells after irradiation at UVA dose of 1.08 J/cm.

CONCLUSIONS

Plant-derived natural compounds are an important source for development of cancer-fighting drugs. This study has demonstrated strong phototoxic activity of the coumarin fraction of C. pungens, a plant which, to our knowledge, has never been studied before. This investigation offers a new perspective for developing other formulations potentially useful in photodynamic therapy for treatment of non-melanoma skin cancers as well as melanomas.

Prognosis by breast cancer subtypes in patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy in a clinical trial

12

Background: Breast cancer can be classified into molecular subtypes that have distinct survival patterns. The purpose of this study was i) to evaluate the prognostic significance of breast cancer subtypes in a cohort of women taking part in the NEAT and BR9601 clinical trials comparing CMF with ECMF, and ii) to evaluate whether the subtypes were predictive of the added benefit of epirubicin in these trials.

Methods: Tumor tissue microarrays were stained and scored for ER, PR, HER2, EGFR and CK5/6. These were used to classify the tumors into six intrinsic subtypes (1). We used Cox regression to compare overall survival (OS), breast cancer specific survival (BSS) and relapse free survival (RFS) in the different subgroups. We also compared the effect of ECMF with CMF by subgroup.

Results: IHC data were available for 1725 cases of whom 805 were Luminal 1-basal negative, 153 were Luminal 1-basal positive, 174 were Luminal 2, 192 were HER2-like, 230 were core basal phenotype and 171 were 5-negative phenotype. Median follow-up time was 7 years. The prognostic effects of the subtypes were similar to those reported for unselected breast cancer cases irrespective of adjuvant therapy (Blows FM, et al. PLoS Med 2010;75:e1000279.). In particular, the luminal 1-basal negative tumors were associated with the best prognosis in five years after surgery and the HER2-like tumors were associated with the poorest prognosis. ECMF has previously shown to be associated with a 33% relative risk reduction for OS compared to CMF (Poole CJ et al. N Engl J Med 2006;35518:1851-62.). There was little evidence for significant heterogeneity of effect by tumor subtype for any end point (OS P= 0.40, BSS P=0.53 RFS P=0.50). However, there was an observed trend towards the largest additional benefit from ECMF being in women with tumors of the 5-negative phenotype (OS HR=0.39 95% CI 0.21-0.73) and the smallest being in Luminal 1-basal negative tumors (OS HR=0.86 95% CI 0.64-1.16).

Conclusions: In a clinical trial in which all patients received chemotherapy, we confirmed that breast cancer subtypes show distinct behaviour with differences in short and long term survival. The benefit of ECMF over CMF was statistically similar in all disease subtypes.

Comparison of methods for handling missing data on immunohistochemical markers in survival analysis of breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Tissue micro-arrays (TMAs) are increasingly used to generate data of the molecular phenotype of tumours in clinical epidemiology studies, such as studies of disease prognosis. However, TMA data are particularly prone to missingness. A variety of methods to deal with missing data are available. However, the validity of the various approaches is dependent on the structure of the missing data and there are few empirical studies dealing with missing data from molecular pathology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the results of four commonly used approaches to handling missing data from a large, multi-centre study of the molecular pathological determinants of prognosis in breast cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We pooled data from over 11,000 cases of invasive breast cancer from five studies that collected information on seven prognostic indicators together with survival time data. We compared the results of a multi-variate Cox regression using four approaches to handling missing data - complete case analysis (CCA), mean substitution (MS) and multiple imputation without inclusion of the outcome (MI-) and multiple imputation with inclusion of the outcome (MI+). We also performed an analysis in which missing data were simulated under different assumptions and the results of the four methods were compared.

RESULTS

Over half the cases had missing data on at least one of the seven variables and 11 percent had missing data on 4 or more. The multi-variate hazard ratio estimates based on multiple imputation models were very similar to those derived after using MS, with similar standard errors. Hazard ratio estimates based on the CCA were only slightly different, but the estimates were less precise as the standard errors were large. However, in data simulated to be missing completely at random (MCAR) or missing at random (MAR), estimates for MI+ were least biased and most accurate, whereas estimates for CCA were most biased and least accurate.

CONCLUSION

In this study, empirical results from analyses using CCA, MS, MI- and MI+ were similar, although results from CCA were less precise. The results from simulations suggest that in general MI+ is likely to be the best. Given the ease of implementing MI in standard statistical software, the results of MI+ and CCA should be compared in any multi-variate analysis where missing data are a problem.

BCL2 in breast cancer: a favourable prognostic marker across molecular subtypes and independent of adjuvant therapy received

BACKGROUND

Breast cancer is heterogeneous and the existing prognostic classifiers are limited in accuracy, leading to unnecessary treatment of numerous women. B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2), an antiapoptotic protein, has been proposed as a prognostic marker, but this effect is considered to relate to oestrogen receptor (ER) status. This study aimed to test the clinical validity of BCL2 as an independent prognostic marker.

METHODS

Five studies of 11 212 women with early-stage breast cancer were analysed. Individual patient data included tumour size, grade, lymph node status, endocrine therapy, chemotherapy and mortality. BCL2, ER, progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) levels were determined in all tumours. A Cox model incorporating the time-dependent effects of each variable was used to explore the prognostic significance of BCL2.

RESULTS

In univariate analysis, ER, PR and BCL2 positivity was associated with improved survival and HER2 positivity with inferior survival. For ER and PR this effect was time dependent, whereas for BCL2 and HER2 the effect persisted over time. In multivariate analysis, BCL2 positivity retained independent prognostic significance (hazard ratio (HR) 0.76, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.66-0.88, P<0.001). BCL2 was a powerful prognostic marker in ER- (HR 0.63, 95% CI 0.54-0.74, P<0.001) and ER+ disease (HR 0.56, 95% CI 0.48-0.65, P<0.001), and in HER2- (HR 0.55, 95% CI 0.49-0.61, P<0.001) and HER2+ disease (HR 0.70, 95% CI 0.57-0.85, P<0.001), irrespective of the type of adjuvant therapy received. Addition of BCL2 to the Adjuvant! Online prognostic model, for a subset of cases with a 10-year follow-up, improved the survival prediction (P=0.0039).

CONCLUSIONS

BCL2 is an independent indicator of favourable prognosis for all types of early-stage breast cancer. This study establishes the rationale for introduction of BCL2 immunohistochemistry to improve prognostic stratification. Further work is now needed to ascertain the exact way to apply BCL2 testing for risk stratification and to standardise BCL2 immunohistochemistry for this application.

Triple negative breast cancers: clinical and prognostic implications

Triple negative breast cancers are defined by the absence of oestrogen, progesterone and HER2 expression. Most triple negative cancers display distinct clinical and pathological characteristics with a high proportion of these tumours occurring at a younger age of onset and in African-American women. Triple negative tumours typically demonstrate high histological grade and are the most common breast cancer subtype in BRCA1 carriers. In addition, many of the features of triple negative cancers are similar to those identified in the basal-like molecular subtype which has recently been characterised by gene expression profiling. Although the two groups overlap, they are not synonymous. Triple negative breast cancers are of pivotal clinical importance given the lack of therapeutic options. The prognostic significance of triple negative tumours remains unclear since the group is heterogeneous and worst prognosis seems to be mostly confined to those that express basal cytokeratins or epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). This review focuses on outlining the pathological, molecular, and clinical features of triple negative breast cancers, discusses its prognostic value and summarises current therapeutic approaches and future directions of research.

Neo-tAnGo: A neoadjuvant randomized phase III trial of epirubicin/cyclophosphamide and paclitaxel ± gemcitabine in the treatment of women with high-risk early breast cancer (EBC): First report of the primary endpoint, pathological complete response (pCR)

522

Background: Neo-tAnGo used a 2-by-2 factorial design, addressing: (i) gemcitabine (G) in a sequential neoadjuvant chemotherapy (CT) regimen of epirubicin/cyclophosphamide (EC) and paclitaxel (T); and (ii) the sequencing of these treatment components (EC then T ± G versus T ± G then EC). Methods: Patients (Pts) with early breast cancer (T2 tumours or above) were randomised to EC then T, T then EC, EC then TG or TG then EC. All components were given x 4 cycles. (E= 90 mg/m2 day (d)1 every (q) 21d; C = 600 mg/m2 d1 q21d; T = 175 mg/m2 d1 q14d; G = 2,000 mg/m2 d1 q14d.) The primary endpoint was pCR, defined as absence of invasive disease in the breast and axillary lymph nodes. 800 pts were required to detect 10% differences in the primary endpoint pCR rates, at the 5% (2-sided) significance level with 85% power. Stratification was by age, inflammatory/locally advanced disease, tumour size, clinical involvement of axillary nodes and oestrogen receptor (ER) status. Results: Between January 2005 and September 2007, 831 pts were randomised by 88 consultants from 57 UK centres. Characteristics were balanced across groups: 63% <50 years old, 25% had inflammatory and/or locally advanced disease, 79% of tumours <50 mm, 50% node positive and 34% ER negative. Two-reader review of 813 (98%) eligible pts'. pathology reports, blinded to treatment arm, were carried out. pCR rates were 17% (95% CI 14–21) for EC&T pts and 17% (95% CI 14–21) for EC&TG pts (p = 0.98). However the sequence T±G then EC, showed pCR of 20% (95% CI 16–24) compared with 15% (95% CI 11–18) for EC then T±G pts (p = 0.03). Adjustment by stratification did not alter results. Conclusions: The Neo-tAnGo results confirm those of the adjuvant tAnGo trial in terms of gemcitabine effect (ASCO 2008). The sequence of T±G-first has demonstrated a significant advantage in pCR compared with the more conventional anthracycline-first sequencing.

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Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) prior to primary chemotherapy (PC) in breast cancer patients

Abstract #5111

Background: Lymph node status is the single most important determinant of prognosis and is used for planning adjuvant therapy. Patient selection and timing of SLNB for PC continue to evolve; SLNB prior to PC may allow more accurate initial staging and prognostication and guide decisions about adjuvant treatment.&#x2028; Methods: 78 patients (pts) who were treated in the Cambridge Breast Unit as part of Neo-tAnGo (a multicentre PC trial). 57 were identified as potentially suitable for SLNB pre-PC (clinically node negative, non-inflammatory tumours 2–5cm in size). 38 had axillary ultrasound, and of these, 18 had sonographically suspicious nodes. 12/18 had confirmed nodal metastasis on core biopsy (CB) and had direct ALND post-PC. The remaining 20 patients had innocent nodes or were CB negative, of whom 19 underwent SLNB. A total of 19 patients in this subgroup did not undergo axillary ultrasound; 16 of these proceeded to ALND post-PC and 3 to SLN biopsy pre-PC according to unit policy at the time. A total of 22 (19 + 3) pts were available for analysis of SLN biopsy pre-PC in terms of time to treatment compared to the remainder of the centre's cohort in the Neo-tAnGo study. 42, (22 SLNB + 20 node positive on CB), were analysed as having axillary pathological staging before PC and compared to the other patient cohort on study.&#x2028; Results: The SLN was successfully identified in all 22 pts using dual localisation techniques with a mean SLN harvest of 2.8 nodes per patient (range 1–10). 6/22 pts (27%) were node positive, and 5 had single SLN involvement (4 macro-; 1 micro-) and one had a macro- and a micrometastasis in 2 different nodes. The mean time from diagnosis to start of PC in the SLN group was 23 days (range 8–43) compared 18 days (range 7–36) for the comparator cohort on study (p=0.02). When all 42 pts with pathological axillary assessment were analysed (including clinically node positive pts with tumours &gt;5cm), there was no significant difference in time from diagnosis to start of PC for pts undergoing CB and/or SLNB (21 days) compared with no axillary assessment (17 days) (wilcoxon test p=0.10). The mean number of nodes removed on completion ALND was 9 (range 4–16). There was no evidence of any viable tumour or fibrosis in any of the non-SLN's (NSLN) examined. Amongst the group of 18 ultrasound/CB positive pts who underwent ALND without SLNB, nodal disease was found in 9 (50%) with evidence of pathological downstaging in 4 (22%).&#x2028; Conclusion: There is potential loss of staging information when SLNB is performed after PC and the clinical significance of a negative SLNB result in this setting is uncertain. A combination of axillary ultrasound (with CB) and SLNB can more accurately stage the axilla without significant overall delays in commencement of PC for clinically node positive and negative pts. Downstaging of disease in NLSN may occur in response to PC with a lower NSLN rate (0%) when compared to primary surgical treatment in smaller tumours (15–25%).

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 5111.