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Supplementary Figure S1. Distribution of HER2 expression (measured by HERmark) in all patients (left) and in 3+ IHC cohort patients (right). All patient: n=324; IHC3+: n=232.

Purpose: This study was aimed at detecting and characterizing circulating tumor cells (CTC) before and after neoadjuvant therapy (NT) in the peripheral blood of patients with breast cancer.Experimental Design: The clinical trial GeparQuattro incorporated NT approaches (epirubicin/cyclophosphamide prior to randomization to docetaxel alone, docetaxel in combination with capecitabine, or docetaxel followed by capecitabine) and additional trastuzumab treatment for patients with HER2-positive tumors. We used the Food and Drug Administration–approved CellSearch system for CTC detection and evaluation of HER2 expression and developed HER2 immunoscoring for CTC.Results: We detected ≥1 CTC/7.5 mL in 46 of 213 patients (21.6%) before NT and in 22 of 207 patients (10.6%) after NT (P = 0.002). Twenty (15.0%) initially CTC-positive cases were CTC-negative after NT, whereas 11 (8.3%) cases were CTC-positive after NT, although no CTC could be found before NT. CTC detection did not correlate with primary tumor characteristics. Furthermore, there was no association between tumor response to NT and CTC detection. HER2-overexpressing CTC were observed in 14 of 58 CTC-positive patients (24.1%), including 8 patients with HER2-negative primary tumors and 3 patients after trastuzumab treatment. CTC scored HER2-negative or weakly HER2-positive before or after NT were present in 11 of 21 patients with HER2-positive primary tumors. HER2 overexpression on CTC was restricted to ductal carcinomas and associated with high tumor stage (P = 0.002).Conclusion: CTC number was low in patients with primary breast cancer. The decrease in CTC incidence during treatment was not correlated with standard clinical characteristics and primary tumor response. Information on the HER2 status of CTC might be helpful for stratification and monitoring of HER2-directed therapies. Clin Cancer Res; 16(9); 2634–45. ©2010 AACR.

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Supplementary Table S1. Multivariate Models in the IHC 3+ Subgroup

Purpose: Expression of p95HER2 has been associated with resistance to trastuzumab-based therapy in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Conversely, high levels of HER2 have been linked with increased clinical benefit from anti-HER2 therapy. In this work, we aimed to investigate whether the levels of p95HER2 and HER2 can predict response to anti-HER2 therapy in patients with breast cancer.Experimental Design: We measured p95HER2 and HER2 by VeraTag and HERmark, respectively, in primary tumors of patients enrolled in the neoadjuvant phase III study NeoALTTO and correlated these variables with pathologic complete response (pCR) and progression-free survival (PFS) following lapatinib (L), trastuzumab (T), or the combination of both agents (L+T).Results: A positive correlation between p95HER2 and HER2 levels was found in the 274 cases (60%) in which quantification of both markers was possible. High levels of these markers were predictive for pCR, especially in the hormone receptor (HR)–positive subset of patients. High HER2 expression was associated with increased pCR rate upon L+T irrespective of the HR status. To examine whether the levels of either p95HER2 or HER2 could predict for PFS in patients treated with lapatinib, trastuzumab or L+T, we fit to the PFS data in Cox models containing log2(p95HER2) or log2(HER2). Both variables correlated with longer PFS.Conclusions: Increasing HER2 protein expression correlated with increased benefit of adding lapatinib to trastuzumab. HER2 expression is a stronger predictor of pCR and PFS than p95HER2 for response to lapatinib, trastuzumab and, more significantly, L+T. Clin Cancer Res; 21(3); 569–76. ©2014 AACR.

Correlation of TILs and clinicopathological parameters

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Purpose: We elucidated the value of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) as an independent predictor for pathologic complete response (pCR) rate and as a prognostic marker for disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer in the neoadjuvant setting.Experimental Design: We evaluated stromal TILs in 498 HER2-positive breast cancer samples of the neoadjuvant GeparQuattro (G4) and GeparQuinto (G5) trials. Levels of TILs were determined as a continuous parameter per 10% increase and as lymphocyte-predominant breast cancer (LPBC; ≥ 60% TILs), and correlated with pCR rate and DFS.Results: In the complete cohort, HER2-positive LPBC cases had a significantly increased pCR rates compared with non-LPBC types. They were significant predictors for pCR in univariate (10% TILs: OR 1.12, P = 0.002; LPBC: OR 2.02, P = 0.002) and multivariate analyses (10% TILs: OR 1.1, P = 0.014; LPBC: OR 1.87, P = 0.009). This effect was also detectable in the trastuzumab-treated (10% TILs: OR 1.12, P = 0.018; LPBC: OR 2.08, P = 0.013) but not in the lapatinib-treated subgroup. We identified a low-risk (pCR/LPBC) and a high-risk group (no pCR/no LPBC) regarding DFS. In triple-positive breast cancer, TILs are of more prognostic relevance than pCR.Conclusions: We could demonstrate the predictive and prognostic impact of TILs in HER2-positive breast cancer in the neoadjuvant setting. In combination with pCR rate, TILs may help to stratify prognostic subgroups, thereby guiding future therapy decisions. Clin Cancer Res; 22(23); 5747–54. ©2016 AACR.

Supplementary Data from Detection and HER2 Expression of Circulating Tumor Cells: Prospective Monitoring in Breast Cancer Patients Treated in the Neoadjuvant GeparQuattro Trial

Baseline characteristics

PDF file, 66K, Subpopulation Treatment Effect Pattern Plot (STEPP) analysis of the treatment effect of conventional versus response-guided neoadjuvant chemotherapy as measured by mean disease-free survival according to overlapping subpopulations defined by percentages of Ki67 at surgery in patients with hormone-receptor-positive (A) and hormone-receptor-negative (B) disease.

Purpose: The value of Ki67 measured on residual disease after neoadjuvant chemotherapy is not sufficiently described.Experimental Design: Participants of the GeparTrio study with primary breast cancer randomly received neoadjuvant response-guided [8 cycles TAC (docetaxel/doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide) in responding and TAC-NX (vinorelbine/capecitabine) in nonresponding patients] or conventional (6 cycles TAC) chemotherapy according to interim response assessment. Ki-67 levels were centrally measured immunohistochemically after neoadjuvant treatment if tumor tissue was available. Here, we analyze 1,151 patients having a pathologic complete response (pCR; n, 484), or residual disease with low (0–15%), intermediate (15.1–35%), or high (35.1–100%) posttreatment Ki67 levels in 488, 77, and 102 patients, respectively.Results: Patients with high posttreatment Ki67 levels showed higher risk for disease relapse (P < 0.0001) and death (P < 0.0001) compared with patients with low or intermediate Ki67 levels. Patients with low Ki67 levels showed a comparable outcome to patients with a pCR (P = 0.211 for disease-free and P = 0.779 for overall survival). Posttreatment Ki67 levels provided more prognostic information than pretreatment Ki67 levels or changes of Ki67 from pre- to posttreatment. Information on pCR plus posttreatment Ki67 levels surmount the prognostic information of pCR alone in hormone–receptor-positive disease [hazard ratios (HR), 1.82–5.88] but not in hormone–receptor-negative disease (HR: 0.61–1.73). Patients with conventional and response-guided treatment did not show a different distribution of posttreatment Ki67 (P = 0.965).Conclusions: Posttreatment Ki67 levels provide prognostic information for patients with hormone–receptor-positive breast cancer and residual disease after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Levels were not prognostic for outcome after response-guided chemotherapy. High posttreatment Ki67 indicates the need for innovative postneoadjuvant treatments. Clin Cancer Res; 19(16); 4521–31. ©2013 AACR.

Background: The PI3K/AKT pathway and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) aberrations are common in breast cancer. We investigated the correlation between phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA), PTEN, p4EBP1 (phosphorylated E4 binding protein 1), and pathologic complete response (pCR) in patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy.Experimental Design: We retrospectively evaluated PIK3CA, PTEN, and p4EBP1 protein expression in centrally HER2-positive patients (n = 181) who received epirubicin cyclophosphamide/trastuzumab followed by docetaxel/trastuzumab alone or concomitant/followed by capecitabine within the GeparQuattro study. PTEN was assessed using the automated quantitative immunofluorescence analysis and was analyzed as a dichotomic variable. p4EBP1 was assessed by immunohistochemistry and used as a continuous and dichotomic variable.Results: p4EBP1 was available from 137, PTEN from 108, and PIK3CA genotype from 83 patients. Overall, the pCR rate in PTEN-low tumors was 27.6%, and in PTEN-high tumors, it was 57.1% (P = 0.010). pCR rates were not statistically different between PIK3CA wild-type and mutant (35% vs. 22%) or p4EBP1 IRS ≤ 4 and IRS > 4 (39% vs. 33%). pCR rate was 57.1% (8/14) in PTEN-high/PIK3CA wild-type and decreased to 15.4% in PTEN-low/PIK3CA-mutant tumors (P = 0.023). In multivariable analysis adjusted for baseline parameters, PTEN independently predicted pCR in the following cohorts: overall [OR, 7.54; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.03–28.06; P = 0.003], PIK3CA wild-type (OR, 23.81; 95% CI, 1.75–324.05; P = 0.017), p4EBP1 IRS > 4 (OR, 11.53; 95% CI, 1.84–72.24; P = 0.009), and hormone receptor–positive (OR, 40.91; 95% CI, 2.93–570.44; P = 0.006). p4EBP1 was independently predictive for pCR in PIK3CA wild-type tumors (OR, 0.14; 95% CI, 0.03–0.78; P = 0.025).Conclusions: The study showed the potential role of PIK3CA genotype, PTEN, and p4EBP in predicting pCR after anthracycline–taxane-based chemotherapy and anti-HER2 treatment. Clin Cancer Res; 22(11); 2675–83. ©2016 AACR.

(A) OR were plotted against all possible cutoff points: the range of significant cutoffs was 39.4% with an optimal cutoff at 60.1 immunofluorescence expression values (vertical line). Dotted lines: 95% confidence interval (B) Waterfall plot showing correct and wrong classification of cases in accordance to pCR depending on PTEN immunofluorescence expression.

Background: We performed whole-exome sequencing of pretreatment biopsies and examined whether genome-wide metrics of overall mutational load, clonal heterogeneity or alterations at variant, gene, and pathway levels are associated with treatment response and survival. Patients and methods: Two hundred and three biopsies from the NeoALTTO trial were analyzed. Mutations were called with MuTect, and Strelka, using pooled normal DNA. Associations between DNA alterations and outcome were evaluated by logistic and Cox-proportional hazards regression. Results: There were no recurrent single gene mutations significantly associated with pathologic complete response (pCR), except PIK3CA [odds ratio (OR) = 0.42, P = 0.0185]. Mutations in 33 of 714 pathways were significantly associated with response, but different genes were affected in different individuals. PIK3CA was present in 23 of these pathways defining a ` trastuzumab resistance-network' of 459 genes. Cases with mutations in this network had low pCR rates to trastuzumab (2/50, 4%) compared with cases with no mutations (9/16, 56%), OR = 0.035;P< 0.001. Mutations in the ` Regulation of RhoA activity' pathway were associated with higher pCR rate to lapatinib (OR = 14.8, adjusted P = 0.001), lapatinib_trastuzumab (OR = 3.0, adjusted P = 0.09), and all arms combined (OR v 3.77, adjusted P = 0.02). Patients (n = 124) with mutations in the trastuzumab resistance network but intact RhoA pathway had 2% (1/41) pCR rate with trastuzumab alone (OR = 0.026, P = 0.001) but adding lapatinib increased pCR rate to 45% (17/38, OR = 1.68, P = 0.3). Patients (n = 46) who had no mutations in either gene set had 6% pCR rate (1/15) with lapatinib, but had the highest pCR rate, 52% (8/15) with trastuzumab alone. Conclusions: Mutations in the RhoA pathway are associated with pCR to lapatinib and mutations in a PIK3CA-related network are associated with resistance to trastuzumab. The combined mutation status of these two pathways could define patients with very low response rate to trastuzumab alone that can be augmented by adding lapatinib or substituting trastuzumab with lapatinib.

Purpose: We elucidated the value of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) as an independent predictor for pathologic complete response (pCR) rate and as a prognostic marker for disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer in the neoadjuvant setting. Experimental Design: We evaluated stromal TILs in 498 HER2-positive breast cancer samples of the neoadjuvant GeparQuattro (G4) and GeparQuinto (G5) trials. Levels of TILs were determined as a continuous parameter per 10% increase and as lymphocyte-predominant breast cancer (LPBC; ≥ 60% TILs), and correlated with pCR rate and DFS. Results: In the complete cohort, HER2-positive LPBC cases had a significantly increased pCR rates compared with non-LPBC types. They were significant predictors for pCR in univariate (10% TILs: OR 1.12, P = 0.002; LPBC: OR 2.02, P = 0.002) and multivariate analyses (10% TILs: OR 1.1, P = 0.014; LPBC: OR 1.87, P = 0.009). This effect was also detectable in the trastuzumab-treated (10% TILs: OR 1.12, P = 0.018; LPBC: OR 2.08, P = 0.013) but not in the lapatinib-treated subgroup. We identified a low-risk (pCR/LPBC) and a high-risk group (no pCR/no LPBC) regarding DFS. In triple-positive breast cancer, TILs are of more prognostic relevance than pCR. Conclusions: We could demonstrate the predictive and prognostic impact of TILs in HER2-positive breast cancer in the neoadjuvant setting. In combination with pCR rate, TILs may help to stratify prognostic subgroups, thereby guiding future therapy decisions. Clin Cancer Res; 22(23); 5747–54. ©2016 AACR.

Background Lapatinib (L) plus trastuzumab (T) improves outcomes for metastatic human epidermal growth factor 2–positive breast cancer and increases the pathologic complete response in the neoadjuvant setting, but their role as adjuvant therapy remains uncertain. Methods In the Adjuvant Lapatinib and/or Trastuzumab Treatment Optimization trial, patients with centrally confirmed human epidermal growth factor 2–positive early breast cancer were randomly assigned to 1 year of adjuvant therapy with T, L, their sequence (T→L), or their combination (L+T). The primary end point was disease-free survival (DFS), with 850 events required for 80% power to detect a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.8 for L+T versus T. Results Between June 2007 and July 2011, 8,381 patients were enrolled. In 2011, due to futility to demonstrate noninferiority of L versus T, the L arm was closed, and patients free of disease were offered adjuvant T. A protocol modification required P ≤ .025 for the two remaining pairwise comparisons. At a protocol-specified analysis with a median follow-up of 4.5 years, a 16% reduction in the DFS hazard rate was observed with L+T compared with T (555 DFS events; HR, 0.84; 97.5% CI, 0.70 to 1.02; P = .048), and a 4% reduction was observed with T→L compared with T (HR, 0.96; 97.5% CI, 0.80 to 1.15; P = .61). L-treated patients experienced more diarrhea, cutaneous rash, and hepatic toxicity compared with T-treated patients. The incidence of cardiac toxicity was low in all treatment arms. Conclusion Adjuvant treatment that includes L did not significantly improve DFS compared with T alone and added toxicity. One year of adjuvant T remains standard of care.

Studies assessing the effect of bevacizumab (BEV) on breast cancer (BC) outcome have shown different effects on progression-free and overall survival, suggesting that a subgroup of patients may benefit from this treatment. Unfortunately, no biomarkers exist to identify these patients. Here, we investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in VEGF pathway genes correlate with pathological complete response (pCR) in the neoadjuvant GeparQuinto trial. HER2-negative patients were randomized into treatment arms receiving either BEV combined with standard chemotherapy or chemotherapy alone. In a pre-planned biomarker study, DNA was collected from 729 and 724 patients, respectively from both treatment arms, and genotyped for 125 SNPs. Logistic regression assessed interaction between individual SNPs and both treatment arms to predict pCR. Five SNPs may be associated with a better response to BEV, but none of them remained significant after correction for multiple testing. The two SNPs most strongly associated, rs833058 and rs699947, were located upstream of the VEGF-A promoter. Odds ratios for the homozygous common, heterozygous and homozygous rare rs833058 genotypes were 2.36 (95% CI, 1.49-3.75), 1.20 (95% CI, 0.88-1.64) and 0.61 (95% CI, 0.34-1.12). Notably, some SNPs in VEGF-A exhibited a more pronounced effect in the triple-negative subgroup. Several SNPs in VEGF-A may be associated with improved pCR when receiving BEV in the neoadjuvant setting. Although none of the observed effects survived correction for multiple testing, our observations are consistent with previous studies on BEV efficacy in BC. Further research is warranted to clarify the predictive value of these markers.

BACKGROUND Although greater than 40% of breast cancers occur in patients aged ≥65 years, these individuals are frequently undertreated. Taxane-based adjuvant chemotherapy is considered the treatment of choice but to the authors' knowledge has only limited evidence in elderly patients. METHODS Patients aged ≥65 years with a Charlson comorbidity index ≤2 and pT1/2 pN0/1 disease and either human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive, hormone receptor-negative, grade 3 (according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events [version 3.0]), high uPA/PAI-1 or any stage pT3/4 pN2/3 breast cancer were randomized to receive 4 cycles of adjuvant epirubicin and cyclophosphamide (EC) (epirubicin at a dose of 90 mg/m2 and cyclophosphamide at a dose of 600 mg/m2 intravenously [iv] on day 1 every 3 22 days) or 6 cycles of cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil (CMF) (cyclophosphamide at a dose of 500 mg/m2, methotrexate at a dose of 40 mg/m2, and 5-fluorouracil at a dose of 600 mg/m2 iv on days 1 plus 8 every 29 days) versus 6 cycles of nab-paclitaxel and capecitabine (nPX) (nab-paclitaxel at a dose of 100 mg/m2 iv on days 1, 8, and 15 every 21 days with 1 week of rest every 6 weeks plus capecitabine at a dose of 2000 mg/m2 orally on days 1-14 every 21 days). Primary endpoints were treatment discontinuations and overall frequency of adverse events. RESULTS Thirteen of 198 patients (6.6%) discontinued EC/CMF and 69 of 193 patients (35.8%) discontinued nPX (P

Background: Anthracycline/taxane based regimen are standard of care for neoadjuvant therapy in breast cancer. A reverse sequence of taxanes followed by anthracyclines was suggested to achieve higher pCR rates (H.Earl, Lancet Oncol 2014). Dual HER2 blockade was shown to be superior to trastuzumab alone increasing the pCR rate by 20%. Nab-paclitaxel (nP) is a solvent-free formulation of paclitaxel (P) encapsulated in albumin which might further improve the pCR rate in breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant treatment and cause lower toxicity. Methods: In the GeparSepto study (NCT01583426) patients were randomized to either nP (125 mg/m2) q1w or P (80mg/m2) q1w for 12 weeks followed by 4 cycles of conventionally dosed EC (E, epirubicin 90mg/m2; C, cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2) q3w. The primary objective is to compare the pathological complete response rate (pCR, ypT0 ypN0). Further objectives are to compare the pCR rate in predefined subgroups, pCR by other definitions, clinical response rate, rate of breast conserving surgery and toxicity and compliance. Patients with untreated, histologically confirmed uni- or bilateral, cT2- cT4d carcinoma, and no clinically relevant cardiovascular and other co-morbidities were included. HER2+ patients received trastuzumab (loading dose 8mg/kg; 6 mg/kg) plus pertuzumab (loading dose 840 mg; 420 mg) q3w concomitantly. HER2, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, Ki67 and SPARC status were centrally assessed prior to randomization for stratification. To increase the pCR rate from 33% with P to 41% with nP, corresponding to an odds ratio of 1.41 with an alpha of 0.05 and a power of 80%, 1200 patients would be needed. A window-of opportunity study was integrated to investigate response to anti-HER2 treatment without chemotherapy, HER2+ patients were randomized to receive 6 weeks of either trastuzumab, pertuzumab or the combination with biomaterial collection at the start and the end of the window. Results: A total of 1204/1229 (window study n=71) recruited patients (7/2012 - 12/2013) from 69 German centers were evaluable, 606 receiving nP. Baseline characteristics are well balanced; median age was 49/50 years (P/nP), 33/33% of the patients presented with HER2+ tumors, 23/23% triple negative breast cancer TNBC (ER and PR 20% 69/69%; SPARC positive 15.7/16%. 265 patients reported SAEs (119 P/146 nP) and 4 died on study (1 P: cardiac decompensation; 3 nP: accident at home, multiorgan failure, sepsis during EC). The pCR rate (ypT0 ypN0) is 29% with P and 38% with nP, OR 1.5; p Conclusions: GeparSepto showed that the pCR rate is significantly higher with nab-paclitaxel compared to solvent-based paclitaxel given weekly before anthracycline based chemotherapy. Subgroupanalyses and 2ndary endpoints will be presented at the meeting. The trial was financially supported by Roche and Celgene. The window-substudy was funded within the EU-FP7 project RESPONSIFY No 278659. Citation Format: Michael Untch, Christian Jackisch, Andreas Schneeweiß, Bettina Conrad, Bahriye Aktas, Carsten Denkert, Holger Eidtmann, Hermann Wiebringhaus, Sherko Kümmel, Jörn Hilfrich, Mathias Warm, Stefan Paepke, Marianne Just, Claus Hanusch, John Hackmann, Jens-Uwe Blohmer, Michael Clemens, Serban Dan Costa, Bernd Gerber, Valentina Nekljudova, Sibylle Loibl, Gunter von Minckwitz. A randomized phase III trial comparing neoadjuvant chemotherapy with weekly nanoparticle-based paclitaxel with solvent-based paclitaxel followed by anthracyline/cyclophosphamide for patients with early breast cancer (GeparSepto); GBG 69 [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr S2-07.

BACKGROUND: The GeparQuinto study showed that adding bevacizumab to 24 weeks of anthracycline-taxane-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy increases pathological complete response (pCR) rates from 14.9% to 18.4% (P=0.04) overall; specifically in patients with TNBC (27.9% to 39.3% (P=0.003) (von Minckwitz et al, NEJM 2012). No difference in pCR rate was observed for adding everolimus to paclitaxel patients who had no early response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (Huober et al, Eur J Cancer 2013). Here, we present disease-free (DFS) and overall survival (OS) analyses. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients (n = 1948) with HER2-negative tumors of a median tumor size of 4 cm were randomly assigned to neoadjuvant treatment with 4xEC à 4x docetaxel with or without bevacizumab, 15 mg/Kg q3w before surgery. 408 patients not clinically responding to EC ± Bev were randomized to 12x weekly paclitaxel with or without everolimus 5mg/day. Patients with HR-positive tumors received endocrine treatment after surgery. 379 events are required to show a HR of 0.75 (α=0.05, ß=0.8) between the bevacizumab arms. 397 relapses and 234 deaths were observed after a median follow up of 3.8 years overall, of those 115 relapses and 75 deaths occurred in the non-responding cohort. RESULTS: Overall, 3-year DFS was 80.8% and 3-year OS was 89.7%. Outcome was not different for patients receiving bevacizumab (HR 1.03; P = 0.780 for DFS and HR 0.974; P = 0.842 for OS) compared to patients receiving chemotherapy alone. Patients with TNBC showed no improvement in DFS (HR 0.991; P = 0.948) and OS (HR 1.02; P = 0.891) when treated with bevacizumab. No other predefined subgroup (HR+/HER2-; locally advanced (cT4 or cN3) or not; cT1-3, cT4a-c, cT4d; pCR or not, CR, PR, NC after first 4 cycles chemotherapy) showed a benefit from bevacizumab. No difference in DFS (HR 0.997; P=0.987) and OS (HR 1.11; P=0.658) was observed for patients who had no early response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy receiving paclitaxel with or without everolimus overall as well as in subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term results finally do not support the neoadjuvant use of bevacizumab in addition to an anthracycline-taxane-based chemotherapy or everolimus in addition to paclitaxel for patients who had no early response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Citation Format: Bernd Gerber, Sibylle Loibl, Michael Untch, Holger Eidtmann, Mahdi Rezai, Peter A Fasching, Hans Tesch, Holm Eggemann, Iris Schrader, Kornelia Kittel, Claus Hanusch, Jens Huober, Christine Solbach, Christian Jackisch, Georg Kunz, Jens-Uwe Blohmer, Maik Hauschild, Tanja Fehm, Valentina Nekljudova, Gunter von Minckwitz. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab or everolimus: Survival analysis of The HER2-negative cohort of the GEPARQUINTO study (GBG 44) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-11-01.

Obesity is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer (BC) and poorer outcome. We assessed the impact of body mass index (BMI) on pathological complete response (pCR), disease-free (DFS), and overall survival (OS), according to BC subtypes in patients with primary BC treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. 8,872 patients with primary BC from eight neoadjuvant trials were categorized according to BMI: underweight (

Background: Sorafenib was tested for neoadjuvant treatment with an anthracycline/taxane-based chemotherapy in the open-label, multicentre, single-arm phase II study, ‘SOFIA'. Patients and Methods: Inclusion criteria were: HER2 negative, cT3, cT4 or cT2 cN+, M0 primary breast cancer. Patients received 4 × epirubicin 90 mg/m2 and cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 (EC) intravenously (i.v.) in 3-weekly cycles followed or preceded by 12 weeks of paclitaxel (Pw) 80 mg/m2. In cohort 1, sorafenib started at 800 mg daily with chemotherapy. An initial daily sorafenib dose of 200 mg was escalated, based on individual toxicities, every 3 weeks in cohort 2 (starting with EC) and every 2 weeks in cohort 3 (starting with Pw). The primary objective was to identify the most feasible regimen; secondary objectives were safety, pathological complete response (pCR) at surgery and pharmacokinetics. Results: Of the 36 recruited patients, 7/12 patients completed the study in cohort 1 and 24/24 patients in cohorts 2 and 3. The median cumulative sorafenib dose per patient was 37%, 65% and 46% in cohorts 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The main grade 3-4 toxicities were neutropenia and hand-foot syndrome. The pCR (ypT0/is) rate was 27.7%. No pharmacokinetic interaction was observed between sorafenib and epirubicin. Conclusion: Sorafenib EC-Pw is feasible if the starting dose is 200 mg, escalated every 3 weeks based on the patients' individual toxicities.

Purpose Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway aberrations are common in breast cancer, with mutations in PIK3CA being the most common. This study investigated the association between PIK3CA genotype and pathologic complete response (pCR) rates in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) –positive breast cancer treated with either dual or single anti-HER2 treatment in addition to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Patients and Methods PIK3CA mutations in 504 tumor samples from participants in the neoadjuvant GeparQuattro, GeparQuinto, and GeparSixto studies were evaluated. All HER2-positive patients received either trastuzumab or lapatinib or the combination plus anthracycline-taxane chemotherapy. PIK3CA mutations were evaluated in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues from core biopsies with a tumor cell content of ≥ 20% by using classical Sanger sequencing of exon 9 and exon 20. Results Overall, 21.4% of the patients harbored a PIK3CA mutation. Detection of a PIK3CA mutation was significantly associated with a lower pCR rate (19.4% with PIK3CA mutation v 32.8% with PIK3CA wild-type; odds ratio [OR], 0.49; 95% CI, 0.29 to 0.83; P = .008). In the 291 hormone receptor (HR) –positive tumors, pCR rate was 11.3% with a PIK3CA mutation compared with 27.5% with PIK3CA wild-type (OR, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.15 to 0.78; P = .011). In 213 patients with HR-negative tumors, pCR rate was 30.4% with PIK3CA mutation and 40.1% without (OR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.32 to 1.32; P = .233; interaction test P = .292). In multivariable analysis, HR status and PIK3CA status provided independent predictive information. In patients with PIK3CA mutation, the pCR rates were 16%, 24.3%, and 17.4% with lapatinib, trastuzumab, and the combination, respectively (P = .654) and in the wild-type group, they were 18.2%, 33.%, and 37.1%, respectively (P = .017). Disease-free survival and overall survival were not statistically significantly different between patients with mutant and wild-type PIK3CA. Conclusion HER2-positive breast carcinomas with a PIK3CA mutation are less likely to achieve a pCR after neoadjuvant anthracycline-taxane–based chemotherapy plus anti-HER2 treatment, even if a dual anti-HER2 treatment is given.

Background: Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway and phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) aberrations are common in breast cancer (BC). PIK3CA mutation is associated with lower pCR rates especially in patients treated with double anti-HER2 therapy (Loibl et al. JCO accepted). Another mechanism of resistance for trastuzumab-based treatment could be loss of PTEN, resulting also in downstream activation of the pathway. We investigated the correlation between PIK3CA, PTEN, p4EBP1 (phosphorylated E4 binding protein 1) and pCR in pts receiving neoadjuvant therapy. Methods: In addition to PIK3CA we retrospectively evaluated PTEN and p4EBP1 by immunohistochemistry in HER2+ patients who received EC followed by docetaxel within the G4 study (Untch et al. 2011). The G4 study demonstrated a higher pCR rate by adding trastuzumab to chemotherapy. HER2 and hormone receptors (HR) were centrally assessed. PTEN was assessed using the automated quantitative immunofluorescence analysis (Aqua) using an antibody (Cell Signalling Technology). p4EBP1 assessed by immunohistochemistry with an immunreactive score ranging from 0-12. PTEN was categorized by an optimized cut-off determined by the cut-off finder software (http://molpath.charite.de/cutoff/) and p4EBP1 was measured as a continuous variable and correlated with PIK3CA genotype and pCR (ypT0, ypN0). Central HER2+ve cases with a tumor cell content of ≥20% were selected (n=181). Results: Median age was 48years (22-77); HR+ve 51%; Grade 3, 47.4%; pCR rate 32%. p4EBP1 analysis was available from 137 and PTEN from 108 patients. PIK3CA genotype was available in 83 of these patients. 58 pts had PIK3CA and PTEN assessable, 14/58 had a PIK3CA mutation (mut) (25%). Overall, pCR rate in PTEN low tumors was 27.6% vs 57.1% in PTEN high (p=0.010). Within the PIK3CA mut cohort 13/14 (92.9%) tumors were PTEN low. Within the PIK3CA wild-type (wt) cohort 30/44 (68.2%) were PTEN low (p=0.066). The tumours were grouped into 4 subsets using PIK3CA (mut vs wt) and PTEN (low vs. high). pCR rate was 57.1% (8/14) in PTEN high/PIK3CA wt cohort and decreased to 15.4% in the PTEN low/PIK3CA mut cohort. The group with either PTEN low and PIK3CA wt or PTEN high and PIK3CA mut had a pCR rate of 32.2% (p=0.015). In multivariable analysis after adjustment for baseline parameters PTEN was an independent predictor for pCR in the complete cohort (OR 12.3 [95% 1.82-82.9] p=0.010) and in PIK3CA wt cohort (OR 10.3 [95% CI 1.31-81.62] p=0.027). Within the HR+ve group PTEN low tumors had a pCR rate of 22.2% vs 61.5% in the PTEN high group (p=0.007). In multivariable analysis PTEN was independently predictive for pCR in the HR+ve group (OR 49.5 [95% 3.4-707] p=0.004). p4EBP1 correlated weakly with PIK3CA (p=0.049) but not with PTEN. There was no association of p4EBP1 with pCR. Conclusion: Low PTEN was significantly associated with lower pCR and added independent predictive information not only in the overall HER2+ve cohort but also in the PIK3CA wt and HR+ve cohort. It will be confirmed in a larger sample size if PTEN assessment adds information to PIK3CA genotype to select patients with low pCR rates after trastuzumab therapy. Citation Format: Sibylle Loibl, Silvia Darb-Esfahani, Alexander Klimowicz, Gunter von Minckwitz, Bianca Lederer, Jens Huober, Arndt Hartmann, Holger Eidtmann, Berit Maria Pfitzner, Peter A Fasching, Katharina Tiemann, Christian Jackisch, Keyur Mehta, Michael Untch, Carsten Denkert. PTEN and PIK3CA but not p4EBP1 are associated with low rates of pathological complete response (pCR) to trastuzumab based chemotherapy in primary HER2-overexpressing breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PD5-7.

The NeoALTTO trial showed that dual HER2 blockade nearly doubles the rate of pathologic complete response (pCR) in patients with primary HER2-positive breast cancer. However, this did not translate into a higher rate of breast-conserving surgery (BCS).In NeoALTTO, patients with HER2-positive breast cancer were randomly assigned to either trastuzumab, lapatinib or their combination with paclitaxel before surgery with pCR as the primary end point. We investigated the association between the surgery type and clinicopathological factors and response to treatment, adjusting for the treatment arm.Four hundred and twenty-nine patients were subjected to breast surgery. Two hundred and forty-two (56%) and 187 (44%) patients underwent mastectomy and BCS, respectively. In a logistic regression model, negative estrogen receptor (ER), multicentricity and the presence of a palpable mass before surgery were significantly associated with a low chance of BCS. Conversely, patients with small tumors and those eligible for BCS at diagnosis were managed more with BCS, independent of the treatment arm. Radiological response was not associated with the surgical decision.Tumor characteristics before neoadjuvant therapy play a main role in deciding the type of surgery calling for a clear consensus on the role of BCS in patients responding to neoadjuvant therapy.

BACKGROUND The proliferation marker Ki67 has been suggested as a promising cancer biomarker. As Ki67 needs an exact quantification, this marker is a prototype of a new generation of tissue-based biomarkers. In this study, we have systematically evaluated different cut points for Ki67 using three different clinical end points in a large neoadjuvant study cohort. PATIENTS AND METHODS We have evaluated pretherapeutic Ki67 levels by immunohistochemistry in 1166 breast cancer core biopsies from the neoadjuvant GeparTrio trial. We used the standardized cutoff-finder algorithm for three end points [response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (pCR), disease-free (DFS) and overall-survival (OS)]. The analyses were stratified for hormone receptor (HR) and HER2 status by molecular subtype radar diagrams (MSRDs). RESULTS A wide range of Ki67 cut points between 3%-94% (for pCR), 6%-46% (for DFS) and 4%-58% (for OS) were significant. The three groups of Ki67 ≤ 15% versus 15.1%-35% versus >35% had pCR-rates of 4.2%, 12.8%, and 29.0% (P < 0.0005), this effect was also present in six of eight molecular subtypes. In MSRD, Ki67 was significantly linked to prognosis in uni- and multivariate analysis in the complete cohort and in HR-positive, but not triple-negative tumors. CONCLUSIONS Ki67 is a significant predictive and prognostic marker over a wide range of cut points suggesting that data-derived cut point optimization might not be possible. Ki67 could be used as a continuous marker; in addition, the scientific community could define standardized cut points for Ki67. Our analysis explains the variability observed for Ki67 cut points in previous studies; however, this should not be seen as weakness, but as strength of this marker. MSRDs are an easy new approach for visualization of biomarker effects on outcome across molecular subtypes in breast cancer. The experience with Ki67 could provide important information regarding the development and implementation of other quantitative biomarkers.

Withdrawn by Author Citation Information: Cancer Res 2012;72(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-14-20.

Purpose The exact definition of pathologic complete response (pCR) and its prognostic impact on survival in intrinsic breast cancer subtypes is uncertain. Methods Tumor response at surgery and its association with long-term outcome of 6,377 patients with primary breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant anthracycline-taxane–based chemotherapy in seven randomized trials were analyzed. Results Disease-free survival (DFS) was significantly superior in patients with no invasive and no in situ residuals in breast or nodes (n = 955) compared with patients with residual ductal carcinoma in situ only (n = 309), no invasive residuals in breast but involved nodes (n = 186), only focal-invasive disease in the breast (n = 478), and gross invasive residual disease (n = 4,449; P < .001). Hazard ratios for DFS comparing patients with or without pCR were lowest when defined as no invasive and no in situ residuals (0.446) and increased monotonously when in situ residuals (0.523), no invasive breast residuals but involved nodes (0.623), and focal-invasive disease (0.727) were included in the definition. pCR was associated with improved DFS in luminal B/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) –negative (P = .005), HER2-positive/nonluminal (P < .001), and triple-negative (P < .001) tumors but not in luminal A (P = .39) or luminal B/HER2-positive (P = .45) breast cancer. pCR in HER2-positive (nonluminal) and triple-negative tumors was associated with excellent prognosis. Conclusion pCR defined as no invasive and no in situ residuals in breast and nodes can best discriminate between patients with favorable and unfavorable outcomes. Patients with noninvasive or focal-invasive residues or involved lymph nodes should not be considered as having achieved pCR. pCR is a suitable surrogate end point for patients with luminal B/HER2-negative, HER2-positive (nonluminal), and triple-negative disease but not for those with luminal B/HER2-positive or luminal A tumors.

Background Bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor A, has shown clinical efficacy in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)–negative metastatic breast cancer. We evaluated the efficacy, measured ac cording to the rate of pathological complete response (absence of invasive and intra ductal disease in the breast and the axillary lymph nodes), and the safety of adding bevacizumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with early-stage breast cancer. Methods We randomly assigned 1948 patients with a median tumor size of 40 mm on palpa tion to receive neoadjuvant epirubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by docetaxel, with or without concomitant bevacizumab. Patients with untreated HER2-negative breast cancer were eligible if they had large tumors, hormone-receptor–negative dis ease, or hormone-receptor–positive disease with palpable nodes or positive findings on sentinel-node biopsy, and no increased cardiovascular or bleeding risk. Results Overall, the rates of pathological complete response were 14.9% with epirubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by docetaxel and 18.4% with epirubicin and cyclophos phamide followed by docetaxel plus bevacizumab (odds ratio with addition of bevaciz umab, 1.29; 95% confidence interval, 1.02 to 1.65; P = 0.04); the corresponding rates of pathological complete response were 27.9% and 39.3% among 663 patients with triple-negative tumors (P = 0.003) and 7.8% and 7.7% among 1262 patients with hormone-receptor–positive tumors (P = 1.00). Breast-conserving surgery was possible in 66.6% of the patients in both groups. The addition of bevacizumab, as compared with neoadjuvant therapy alone, was associated with a higher incidence of grade 3 or 4 toxic effects (febrile neutropenia, mucositis, the hand–foot syndrome, infection, and hypertension) but with a similar incidence of surgical complications. Conclusions The addition of bevacizumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy significantly increased the rate of pathological complete response among patients with HER2-negative early-stage breast cancer. Efficacy was restricted primarily to patients with triple-negative tu mors, in whom the pathological complete response is considered to be a reliable predictor of long-term outcome. (Funded by Sanofi-Aventis and Roche, Germany; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00567554.)

Adjacent ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is found in approximately 45% of invasive ductal carcinomas (IDC) of the breast. Pure DCIS overexpresses HER2 in approximately 45%. There is uncertainty whether adjacent DCIS impacts on the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and trastuzumab as well as whether HER2 expression in IDC component or adjacent DCIS changes throughout treatment. Core biopsies and surgical tissue from participants of the GeparQuattro study with HER2-positive IDC were centrally examined for the area of invasive ductal component and adjacent DCIS before and after receiving neoadjuvant anthracycline-taxane-trastuzumab containing chemotherapy. HER2 overexpression in IDC and adjacent DCIS was quantified separately by immunohistochemistry using the Ventana automated staining system. Pathological complete response (pCR) was defined as no residual invasive or non-invasive tumor tissue. Fifty-nine (37.3%) of 158 IDCs presented with adjacent DCIS at diagnosis. These tumors showed lower regression grades than pure IDC (P = 0.033). The presence of adjacent DCIS was an independent negative predictor of pCR [odds ratio 0.42 (95% CI 0.2-0.9), P = 0.027]. Adjacent DCIS area decreased from pre-treatment to surgery (r = 0.205) with 30 (50.8%) IDCs with adjacent DCIS showing complete eradication of adjacent DCIS. HER2 status of adjacent DCIS was highly correlated with HER2 status of IDC component before (r = 0.892) and after treatment (r = 0.676). Degree of HER2 overexpression of the IDC component decreased in 16 (33.3%) out of 49 patients without a pCR. These 16 IDCs showed lower RGs compared to the 33 IDCs with unchanged HER2 expression (P = 0.055). HER2-positive IDCs with adjacent DCIS is less responsive to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and trastuzumab compared to pure IDC. However, complete eradication of adjacent DCIS is frequently observed. HER2-overexpression of the invasive ductal component decreases in a subset of tumors, which showed less tumor regression.

Background: ABCSG-12 examined the efficacy of ovarian suppression using goserelin combined with tamoxifen (TAM) or anastrozole (ANA) ± zoledronic acid (ZOL) in premenopausal patients with endocrine-responsive early breast cancer. Results at 48 months and at 62 months show that adding ZOL significantly improved disease-free survival (DFS) and reduced disease recurrence. Methods: Premenopausal patients with endocrine-responsive early breast cancer (N = 1,803) were randomized to goserelin (3.6 mg q28d) and TAM (20 mg/d) or ANA (1 mg/d) ± ZOL (4 mg q6mo) for 3 years. Endpoints included DFS and overall survival, both analyzed using log-rank test and Cox models. Results: At 48 months’ median follow-up, ZOL significantly reduced the risk of DFS events by 36% versus no-ZOL (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.64; P = .01); this was maintained at 62 months’ follow-up (HR = 0.68; P = .009). In addition, the trend toward reduced risk of death with ZOL was maintained at both 48 months (HR = 0.60; P = .11) and 62 months (HR = 0.66; P = .10) compared with no-ZOL. Patients receiving ZOL also had fewer distant recurrences compared with no-ZOL: 29 versus 41 events at 48 months, and 44 versus 56 events at 62 months. No significant renal adverse events or confirmed cases of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) have been reported. Conclusions: Comparisons of 48- and 62-month data suggest a possible carry-over of the ZOL anticancer benefit 2 years after treatment completion. Additional analyses will be presented, including disease outcomes during therapy and after treatment, as well as overall survival analyses. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-11-02.

Background Among breast cancer patients, nonresponse to initial neoadjuvant chemotherapy is associated with unfavorable outcome. We compared the response of nonresponding patients who continued the same treatment with that of patients who switched to a well-tolerated non-cross-resistant regimen. Methods Previously untreated breast cancer patients received two 3-week cycles of docetaxel at 75 mg/m(2), doxorubicin at 50 mg/m(2), and cyclophosphamide at 500 mg/m(2) per day (TAC). Patients whose tumors did not decrease in size by at least 50% were randomly assigned to four additional cycles of TAC or to four cycles of vinorelbine at 25 mg/m(2) and capecitabine at 2000 mg/m(2) (NX). The outcome was sonographic response, defined as a reduction in the product of the two largest perpendicular diameters by at least 50%. A difference of 10% or less in the sonographic response qualified as noninferiority of the NX treatment. Pathological complete response was defined as no invasive or in situ residual tumor masses in the breast and lymph nodes. Toxic effects were assessed. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results Of 2090 patients enrolled in the GeparTrio study, 622 (29.8%) who did not respond to two initial cycles of TAC were randomly assigned to an additional four cycles of TAC (n = 321) or to four cycles of NX (n = 301). Sonographic response rate was 50.5% for the TAC arm and 51.2% for the NX arm. The difference of 0.7% (95% confidence interval = -7.1% to 8.5%) demonstrated noninferiority of NX (P = .008). Similar numbers of patients in both arms received breast-conserving surgery (184 [57.3%] in the TAC arm vs 180 [59.8%] in the NX arm) and had a pathological complete response (5.3% vs 6.0%). Fewer patients in the NX arm than in the TAC arm had hematologic toxic effects, mucositis, infections, and nail changes, but more had hand-foot syndrome and sensory neuropathy. Conclusion Pathological complete responses to both regimens were marginal. Among patients who did not respond to the initial neoadjuvant TAC treatment, similar efficacy but better tolerability was observed by switching to NX than continuing with TAC.

BACKGROUND. Letrozole is safe and effective in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor-positive early breast cancer, but long-term aromatase inhibitor use may cause bone loss and increase fracture risk. This study evaluated an immediate or delayed strategy of bone protection therapy with zoledronic acid. METHODS. A total of 1065 patients who were receiving adjuvant letrozole were randomized to immediate-start or delayed-start zoledronic acid (4 mg intravenously biannually for 5 years). The delayed group received zoledronic acid if lumbar spine or total hip T-score decreased below −2.0 or when a nontraumatic fracture occurred. The primary endpoint was change in lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) at Month 12. Secondary endpoints included changes in total hip BMD, serum bone turnover markers, and safety at Month 12. RESULTS. Lumbar spine BMD increased from baseline in the immediate arm, while it decreased from baseline in delayed-arm patients. At Month 12, the differences between the groups in lumbar spine and total hip BMD were 5.7% (P < .0001; 95% confidence intervals [CI], 5.2% to 6.1%), and 3.6% (P < .0001; 95% CI, 3.3 to 4.0%), respectively. Both regimens were well tolerated with few serious adverse events. Bone pain was higher in the immediate group, as expected, because some patients experienced acute-phase reactions after zoledronic acid infusion. CONCLUSIONS. At 12 months, immediate zoledronic acid therapy prevented bone loss in postmenopausal women who were receiving adjuvant letrozole. Cancer 2008. © 2008 American Cancer Society.

Purpose In postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor–positive early breast cancer, surgery is usually followed by a 5-year course of tamoxifen. This report presents results of a prospective, open-label, randomized study, designed to evaluate the benefits of switching to anastrozole after 2 years of tamoxifen treatment, compared with continuing on tamoxifen for 5 years. Patients and Methods After receiving tamoxifen treatment for 2 years, eligible patients (n = 979) were randomly assigned to switch to anastrozole (1 mg/d) or continue tamoxifen (20 or 30 mg/d) for an additional 3 years. Patients were monitored every 6 months during years 1 to 3 and annually thereafter. The primary efficacy variable was disease-free survival, including local or distant recurrence, new contralateral breast cancer, or death. Secondary variables were overall survival and assessment of safety. Results Switching to anastrozole resulted in a significant reduction in the risk of disease recurrence (hazard ratio [HR], 0.66; 95% CI, 0.44 to 1.00; P = .049), and improved overall survival (HR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.28 to 0.99; P = .045) compared with continuing on tamoxifen. Fewer patients who switched to anastrozole reported serious adverse events (22.7% v 30.8%) compared with those who continued on tamoxifen, mainly due to more patients in the tamoxifen group with endometrial events. The overall safety profile for anastrozole was consistent with previous reports and no new safety issues were identified. Conclusion Postmenopausal women who have taken tamoxifen for 2 years as adjuvant therapy are less likely to experience a recurrence of breast cancer and have improved overall survival if they switch to anastrozole compared with continuing to receive tamoxifen.

Studies assessing the effect of bevacizumab (BEV) on breast cancer (BC) outcome have shown different effects on progression-free and overall survival, suggesting that a subgroup of patients may benefit from this treatment. Unfortunately, no biomarkers exist to identify these patients. Here, we investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in VEGF pathway genes correlate with pathological complete response (pCR) in the neoadjuvant GeparQuinto trial. HER2-negative patients were randomized into treatment arms receiving either BEV combined with standard chemotherapy or chemotherapy alone. In a pre-planned biomarker study, DNA was collected from 729 and 724 patients, respectively from both treatment arms, and genotyped for 125 SNPs. Logistic regression assessed interaction between individual SNPs and both treatment arms to predict pCR. Five SNPs may be associated with a better response to BEV, but none of them remained significant after correction for multiple testing. The two SNPs most strongly associated, rs833058 and rs699947, were located upstream of the VEGF-A promoter. Odds ratios for the homozygous common, heterozygous and homozygous rare rs833058 genotypes were 2.36 (95% CI, 1.49-3.75), 1.20 (95% CI, 0.88-1.64) and 0.61 (95% CI, 0.34-1.12). Notably, some SNPs in VEGF-A exhibited a more pronounced effect in the triple-negative subgroup. Several SNPs in VEGF-A may be associated with improved pCR when receiving BEV in the neoadjuvant setting. Although none of the observed effects survived correction for multiple testing, our observations are consistent with previous studies on BEV efficacy in BC. Further research is warranted to clarify the predictive value of these markers. ispartof: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER vol:137 issue:12 pages:2981-2988 ispartof: location:United States status: published

Importance The presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is associated with improved outcomes in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive early breast cancer treated with adjuvant trastuzumab and chemotherapy. The prognostic associations in the neoadjuvant setting of other anti-HER2 agents and combinations are unknown. Objective To determine associations between presence of TILs, pathological complete response (pCR), and event-free survival (EFS) end points in patients with early breast cancer treated with trastuzumab, lapatinib, or the combination. Design, Setting, and Participants The NeoALTTO trial (Neoadjuvant Lapatinib and/or Trastuzumab Treatment Optimization) randomly assigned 455 women with HER2-positive early-stage breast cancer between January 5, 2008, and May 27, 2010, to 1 of 3 neoadjuvant treatment arms: trastuzumab, lapatinib, or the combination for 6 weeks followed by the addition of weekly paclitaxel for 12 weeks, followed by 3 cycles of fluorouracil, epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide after surgery. The primary end point used in this study was pCR in the breast and lymph nodes, with a secondary end point of EFS. We evaluated levels of percentage of TILs using hematoxylin-eosin–stained core biopsy sections taken at diagnosis (prior to treatment) in a prospectively defined retrospective analysis. Main Outcomes and Measures Levels of TILs were examined for their associations with efficacy end points adjusted for prognostic clinicopathological factors including PIK3CA genotype. Results Of the 455 patients, 387 (85.1%) tumor samples were used for the present analysis. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) level of TILs was 12.5% (5.0%-30.0%), with levels lower in hormone receptor–positive (10.0% [5.0%-22.5%]) vs hormone receptor–negative (12.5% [3.0%-35.0%]) samples ( P = .02). For the pCR end point, levels of TILs greater than 5% were associated with higher pCR rates independent of treatment group (adjusted odds ratio, 2.60 [95% CI, 1.26-5.39]; P = .01). With a median (IQR) follow-up time of 3.77 (3.50-4.22) years, every 1% increase in TILs was associated with a 3% decrease in the rate of an event (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.97 [95% CI, 0.95-0.99]; P = .002) across all treatment groups. Conclusions and Relevance The presence of TILs at diagnosis is an independent, positive, prognostic marker in HER2-positive early breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant anti-HER2 agents and chemotherapy for both pCR and EFS end points. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00553358

Background: The PI3K/AKT pathway and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) aberrations are common in breast cancer. We investigated the correlation between phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA), PTEN, p4EBP1 (phosphorylated E4 binding protein 1), and pathologic complete response (pCR) in patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy. Experimental Design: We retrospectively evaluated PIK3CA, PTEN, and p4EBP1 protein expression in centrally HER2-positive patients (n = 181) who received epirubicin cyclophosphamide/trastuzumab followed by docetaxel/trastuzumab alone or concomitant/followed by capecitabine within the GeparQuattro study. PTEN was assessed using the automated quantitative immunofluorescence analysis and was analyzed as a dichotomic variable. p4EBP1 was assessed by immunohistochemistry and used as a continuous and dichotomic variable. Results: p4EBP1 was available from 137, PTEN from 108, and PIK3CA genotype from 83 patients. Overall, the pCR rate in PTEN-low tumors was 27.6%, and in PTEN-high tumors, it was 57.1% (P = 0.010). pCR rates were not statistically different between PIK3CA wild-type and mutant (35% vs. 22%) or p4EBP1 IRS ≤ 4 and IRS > 4 (39% vs. 33%). pCR rate was 57.1% (8/14) in PTEN-high/PIK3CA wild-type and decreased to 15.4% in PTEN-low/PIK3CA-mutant tumors (P = 0.023). In multivariable analysis adjusted for baseline parameters, PTEN independently predicted pCR in the following cohorts: overall [OR, 7.54; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.03–28.06; P = 0.003], PIK3CA wild-type (OR, 23.81; 95% CI, 1.75–324.05; P = 0.017), p4EBP1 IRS > 4 (OR, 11.53; 95% CI, 1.84–72.24; P = 0.009), and hormone receptor–positive (OR, 40.91; 95% CI, 2.93–570.44; P = 0.006). p4EBP1 was independently predictive for pCR in PIK3CA wild-type tumors (OR, 0.14; 95% CI, 0.03–0.78; P = 0.025). Conclusions: The study showed the potential role of PIK3CA genotype, PTEN, and p4EBP in predicting pCR after anthracycline–taxane-based chemotherapy and anti-HER2 treatment. Clin Cancer Res; 22(11); 2675–83. ©2016 AACR.

Background Pathologic complete response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) correlates with overall survival (OS) in primary breast cancer. A recently described staging system based on pre-treatment clinical stage (CS), final pathological stage (PS), estrogen receptor (ER) status and nuclear grade (NG) leads to a refined estimation of prognosis in unselected patients. Its performance in luminal type breast cancers has not been determined. This study investigates the clinical utility of this CPS + EG score when restricted to hormone receptor-positive (HR+)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2–) patients and compares the results to a cohort of unselected patients. Methods The CPS + EG score was calculated for 6637 unselected patients and 2454 patients with HR + /HER2− tumours who received anthracycline/taxane-based NACT within 8 prospective German trials. Results Five-year disease-free survival (DFS) and OS were 75.6% and 84.1% for the unselected cohort and 80.6% and 87.8% for the HR + /HER2− subgroup, respectively. The CPS + EG system distinguished different prognostic groups with 5-year DFS ranging from 0% to 91%. The CPS + EG system leads to an improved categorisation of patients by outcome compared to CS, PS, ER or NG alone. When applying the CPS + EG score to the HR + /HER2− subgroup, a shift to lower scores was observed compared to the overall population, but 5-year DFS and OS for the individual scores were identical to that observed in the overall population. Conclusions In HR + /HER2− patients, the CPS + EG staging system retains its ability to facilitate a refined stratification of patients according to outcome. It can help to select candidates for post-neoadjuvant clinical trials in luminal breast cancer.

Young women with breast cancer (BC) have a worse survival partly due to more aggressive tumor characteristics; however, their response to chemotherapy seems better. We investigated to what extent the prognostic factor pathological complete remission (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy is applicable to young women. 8949 patients with primary BC and follow-up from eight German neoadjuvant trials were included. A subgroup of 1453 patients

Background Assessment of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted from chromosome 10 (PTEN) might be an important tool in identifying human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer patients unlikely to derive benefit from anti-HER2 therapies. However, studies to date have failed to demonstrate its predictive role in any treatment setting. Patients and methods Prospectively collected baseline core biopsies from 429 early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer patients treated with trastuzumab, lapatinib, or their combination in the Neo-ALTTO study were stained using two anti-PTEN monoclonal antibodies (CST and DAKO). The association of PTEN status and PI3K pathway activation (defined as either PTEN loss and/or PIK3CA mutation) with total pathological complete response (tpCR) at surgery, event-free survival (EFS), and overall survival (OS) was evaluated. Results PTEN loss was observed in 27% and 29% of patients (all arms, n = 361 and n = 363) for CST and DAKO, respectively. PTEN loss was more frequently observed in hormone receptor (HR)-negative (33% and 36% with CST and DAKO, respectively) compared with HR-positive tumours (20% and 22% with CST and DAKO, respectively). No significant differences in tpCR rates were observed according to PTEN status. PI3K pathway activation was found in 47% and 48% of patients (all arms, n = 302 and n = 301) for CST and DAKO, respectively. Similarly, tpCR rates were not significantly different for those with or without PI3K pathway activation. Neither PTEN status nor PI3K pathway activation were predictive of tpCR, EFS, or OS, independently of treatment arm or HR status. High inter-antibody and inter-observer agreements were found (>90%). Modification of scoring variables significantly affected the correlation between PTEN and HR status but not with tpCR. Conclusion These data show that PTEN status determination is not a useful biomarker to predict resistance to trastuzumab and lapatinib-based therapies. The lack of standardization of PTEN status determination may influence correlations between expression and relevant clinical end points. Clinical Trials This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00553358.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy can increase the rate of breast-conserving surgery in patients with operable breast cancer. However, uncertainty remains regarding surgical procedures and predictors for successful breast-conserving surgery.This study was an analysis of surgical data of a representative data subset of 607 patients enrolled in the GEPARDUO study. This prospective, multicenter, phase III study randomly assigned patients with operable breast cancer (or = 2 cm) to neoadjuvant 8-week dose-dense doxorubicin plus docetaxel or a 24-week schedule of doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide followed by docetaxel (AC-DOC).Breast conservation was attempted in 493 (81.2%) patients, but 43 patients eventually required mastectomy, thus resulting in a breast-conserving surgery rate of 74.1%. Breast-conserving re-excision was performed in 61 patients (12.4%). Factors associated with a significantly higher breast-conserving surgery rate were a prechemotherapy tumor sizeor = 40 mm, nonlobular histological characteristics, treatment with AC-DOC, clinical response, postchemotherapy tumor sizeor = 20 mm, and treatment in a larger center (10 enrolled patients). Nonlobular histological characteristics and intraoperative frozen-section analysis for margin evaluation were associated with significantly lower reoperation rates (P = .015).Breast conservation after neoadjuvant chemotherapy is feasible in most patients with operable breast cancer. For surgical planning, tumor characteristics and response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy should be taken into account. Improved breast-imaging modalities are necessary to improve detection of residual disease after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, especially when breast cancer is of lobular invasive histology. Margin assessment by intraoperative frozen-section analysis is helpful to avoid reoperation. To achieve an optimal result, an interdisciplinary surgical approach is important.

This prospective, parallel-group, dose-escalation study evaluated the cardiac safety of trastuzumab (Herceptin) plus epirubicin/cyclophosphamide (EC) in women with human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2)-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and determined an epirubicin dose for further evaluation. HER2-positive patients received standard-dose trastuzumab plus epirubicin (60 or 90 mg/m(2))/cyclophosphamide (600 mg/m(2)) 3-weekly (EC60+H, n=26; EC90+H, n=25), for four to six cycles; 23 HER2-negative patients received EC alone (90/600 mg/m(2)) 3-weekly for six cycles (EC90). All patients underwent thorough cardiac evaluation. Two EC90+H-treated patients experienced symptomatic congestive heart failure 4.5 and 6 months after the end of chemotherapy. One EC60+H-treated patient experienced an asymptomatic decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) to 10% points were detected in 12 (48%), 14 (56%) and 5 (24%) patients treated with EC60+H, EC90+H, and EC90. Objective response rates with EC60+H and EC90+H were >60%, and 26% for EC90 alone. These results indicate that trastuzumab may be combined with EC with manageable cardiotoxicity and promising efficacy.

Timing of systemic treatment in primary operable breast cancer is subject to extensive investigation, suggesting that pathologic complete remission (pCR) might improve survival in this setting. The German Adjuvant Breast Cancer Group previously demonstrated the feasibility of a dose-dense biweekly schedule of 4 cycles doxorubicin 50 mg/m 2 and docetaxel 75 mg/m 2 (ddAT) ± tamoxifen in the neoadjuvant setting to yield a pCR of 9.7% (Gepardo trial). Patients assigned to ddAT received prophylactic granulocyte colony-stimulating factor support (5 ν g/kg days 5–10). The current study (GeparDUO) was designed to assess whether the pCR rate, including no viable invasive and preinvasive tumor cells, achieved with ddAT was equivalent to sequential administration of doxorubicin/ cyclophosphamide followed by docetaxel (AC-DOC) over 24 weeks in primary operable breast cancer. From June 1999 to September 2001, 913 patients were enrolled in this trial. In total, 395 patients randomized before August 1, 2000, were included in the second interim analysis. Safety data were available from 369 patients (ddAT, n=191; AC-DOC, n=178) demonstrating that toxicity of both regimens was tolerable. Grade 3/4 neutropenia occurred in 39.8% of patients receiving ddAT and in 69.3% of patients treated with AC-DOC. Efficacy data were available in 378 patients. A pCR occurred in 14.8% of the primary breast tumors. According to the recommendations of the data monitoring committee, recruitment to the study was halted as of September 2001 (n = 913/1000) due to the significant difference in pCR rates observed between the treatment arms. Surgery was documented in 380 patients. Breast conservation was possible in 288 cases (75.8%). The application of both schedules is safe and feasible in an outpatient setting. Although, results obtained from this interim analysis are encouraging, caution is recommended until the results obtained show statistical difference in pCR.

Purpose: Expression of p95HER2 has been associated with resistance to trastuzumab-based therapy in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Conversely, high levels of HER2 have been linked with increased clinical benefit from anti-HER2 therapy. In this work, we aimed to investigate whether the levels of p95HER2 and HER2 can predict response to anti-HER2 therapy in patients with breast cancer. Experimental Design: We measured p95HER2 and HER2 by VeraTag and HERmark, respectively, in primary tumors of patients enrolled in the neoadjuvant phase III study NeoALTTO and correlated these variables with pathologic complete response (pCR) and progression-free survival (PFS) following lapatinib (L), trastuzumab (T), or the combination of both agents (L+T). Results: A positive correlation between p95HER2 and HER2 levels was found in the 274 cases (60%) in which quantification of both markers was possible. High levels of these markers were predictive for pCR, especially in the hormone receptor (HR)–positive subset of patients. High HER2 expression was associated with increased pCR rate upon L+T irrespective of the HR status. To examine whether the levels of either p95HER2 or HER2 could predict for PFS in patients treated with lapatinib, trastuzumab or L+T, we fit to the PFS data in Cox models containing log2(p95HER2) or log2(HER2). Both variables correlated with longer PFS. Conclusions: Increasing HER2 protein expression correlated with increased benefit of adding lapatinib to trastuzumab. HER2 expression is a stronger predictor of pCR and PFS than p95HER2 for response to lapatinib, trastuzumab and, more significantly, L+T. Clin Cancer Res; 21(3); 569–76. ©2014 AACR.

Purpose: Dual anti-HER2 blockade with trastuzumab/pertuzumab or trastuzumab/lapatinib in combination with anthracycline/taxane–based chemotherapy can reach pathologic complete response (pCR) rates of up to 60% in HER2-positive breast cancer. The DAFNE (Dual blockade with AFatinib and trastuzumab as NEoadjuvant treatment) phase II study (NCT015591477) investigated a dual blockade with the irreversible pan-HER inhibitor afatinib and trastuzumab in this setting. Experimental Design: Participants with untreated, centrally HER2-positive breast cancer were treated for 6 weeks with afatinib (20 mg/d) and trastuzumab [(8) 6 mg/kg/3 weeks] alone; followed by 12-week treatment with paclitaxel (80 mg/m2/1 week), trastuzumab, and afatinib; followed by 12 weeks with epirubicin (90 mg/m2/3 weeks), cyclophosphamide (600 mg/m2/3 weeks), and trastuzumab before surgery. Primary objective was pCR rate, defined as ypT0/is ypN0. We expected a pCR rate of 70%; 65 patients were needed to exclude a rate of ≤55%. Results: pCR rate was 49.2% [90% confidence interval (CI), 38.5–60.1] in 65 treated patients. Patients with hormone receptor–negative (N = 19) or hormone receptor–positive (N = 46) tumors showed pCR rates of 63.2% and 43.5%, respectively (P = 0.153). Patients with (N = 9) or without (N = 56) lymphocyte predominant breast cancer (LPBC) showed pCR rates of 100% and 41.1%, respectively (P < 0.001). PCR rate was not different in patients with or without PIK3CA tumor mutations (P = 0.363). Clinical responses were seen in 96.3% of 54 evaluable patients, and breast conserving surgery was possible in 59.4% of 62 assessable patients. Most frequent nonhematologic grade 3–4 toxicities were diarrhea (7.7%), increased creatinine (4.6%), and infection (4.6%). One patient developed symptomatic congestive heart failure. Conclusions: Neoadjuvant treatment with afatinib, trastuzumab, and chemotherapy showed acceptable tolerability, and a pCR rate comparable with that of other anti-HER2 doublets but below challenging expectations. Clin Cancer Res; 21(13); 2924–31. ©2015 AACR.

Preclinical data suggest that triple-negative breast cancers are sensitive to interstrand crosslinking agents, and that synergy may exist for the combination of a taxane, trastuzumab, and a platinum salt for HER2-positive breast cancer. We therefore aimed to assess the efficacy of the addition of carboplatin to neoadjuvant therapy for triple-negative and HER2-positive breast cancer.Patients with previously untreated, non-metastatic, stage II-III, triple-negative breast cancer and HER2-positive breast cancer were enrolled. Patients were treated for 18 weeks with paclitaxel (80 mg/m(2) once a week) and non-pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (20 mg/m(2) once a week). Patients with triple-negative breast cancer received simultaneous bevacizumab (15 mg/kg intravenously every 3 weeks). Patients with HER2-positive disease received simultaneous trastuzumab (8 mg/kg initial dose with subsequent doses of 6 mg/kg intravenously every 3 weeks) and lapatinib (750 mg daily). Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio with dynamic allocation and minimisation, stratified by biological subtype and Ki-67 level to receive, at the same time as the backbone regimens, either carboplatin (AUC 1·5 [2·0 for the first 329 patients] once a week) or no carboplatin. The primary endpoint the proportion of patients who achieved a pathological complete response (defined as ypT0 ypN0), analysed for all patients who started treatment; a p value of less than 0·2 was deemed significant for the primary endpoint. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01426880.296 patients were randomly assigned to receive carboplatin and 299 to no additional carboplatin, of whom 295 and 293 started treatment, respectively. In this final analysis, 129 patients (43·7%, 95% CI 38·1-49·4) in the carboplatin group achieved a pathological complete response, compared with 108 patients (36·9%, 31·3-42·4) without carboplatin (odds ratio 1·33, 95% CI 0·96-1·85; p=0·107). Of the patients with triple-negative breast cancer, 84 (53·2%, 54·4-60·9) of 158 patients achieved a pathological complete response with carboplatin, compared with 58 (36·9%, 29·4-44·5) of 157 without (p=0·005). Of the patients with HER2-positive tumours, 45 (32·8%, 25·0-40·7) of 137 patients achieved a pathological complete response with carboplatin compared with 50 (36·8%, 28·7-44·9) of 136 without (p=0·581; test for interaction p=0·015). Haematological and non-haematological toxic effects that were significantly more common in the carboplatin group than in the no-carboplatin group included grade 3 or 4 neutropenia (192 [65%] vs 79 [27%]), grade 3 or 4 anaemia (45 [15%] vs one [1%]), grade 3 or 4 thrombocytopenia (42 [14%] vs one [1%]), and grade 3 or 4 diarrhoea (51 [17%] vs 32 [11%]); carboplatin was more often associated with dose discontinuations (141 [48%] with carboplatin and 114 [39%] without carboplatin; p=0·031). The frequency of grade 3 or 4 haematological events decreased from 82% (n=135) to 70% (n=92) and grade 3 or 4 non-haematological events from 78% (n=128) to 59% (n=77) in the carboplatin arm when the dose of carboplatin was reduced from AUC 2·0 to 1·5.The addition of neoadjuvant carboplatin to a regimen of a taxane, an anthracycline, and targeted therapy significantly increases the proportion of patients achieving a pathological complete response. This regimen seems to increase responses in patients with triple-negative breast cancer, but not in those with HER2-positive breast cancer.GlaxoSmithKline, Roche, and Teva.

Invasive lobular carcinomas (ILC) show better clinical behaviour compared with other histological types, but significantly lower pathological complete response (pCR) rates after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). We investigated whether factors influencing pCR rate in ILC after NACT can be identified and whether clinical outcome is different. 9,020 breast cancer patients from nine German neoadjuvant trials with known histological type were pooled. 11.7 % of tumours were ILC. Endpoints were: pCR rate, surgery type and survival. ILC was associated with older age, larger tumour size, lymph node negativity, lower grade and positive hormone-receptor-status (HR). Patients with ILC achieved a significantly lower pCR rate compared with non-ILC patients (6.2 vs. 17.4 %, P < 0.001). The pCR rate was 4.2 % in ILC/HR+/G1-2, 7.0 % in ILC with either HR- or G3, and 17.8 % in ILC/HR-/G3. Mastectomy rate was higher in ILC compared with non-ILC patients irrespective of response to NACT (pCR: 27.4 vs. 16.6 %, P = 0.037 and non-pCR: 41.8 % vs. 31.5 %, P < 0.0001). Age and HR independently predicted pCR in ILC. In ILC patients, pCR did not predict distant disease free (DDFS) and loco-regional disease free survival (LRFS), but overall survival (OS). Non-pCR patients with ILC had significantly better DDFS (P = 0.018), LRFS (P < 0.0001) and OS (P = 0.044) compared with non-ILC patients. Patients with ILC had a low chance of obtaining a pCR and this is not well correlated with further outcome. The mastectomy rate was considerably high in ILC patients even after obtaining a pCR. We, therefore, suggest to offer NACT mainly to ILC patients with HR-negative tumours. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York.