Contextualizing pertuzumab approval in the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer patients

Development and validation of a prognostic nomogram for early HER2-positive and lymph node-negative breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Dual-targeted therapy is currently the standard adjuvant treatment for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2+) and lymph node-positive (LN+) breast cancer. However, the optimal therapeutic strategy for patients with HER2+ and lymph node-negative (LN-) breast cancer remains unclear. This population-based study aimed to explore the factors associated with survival in patients with HER2+ and LN- breast cancer, and develop a survival-predicting nomogram in the era of trastuzumab-based single-targeted therapy.

METHODS

We collected the clinicopathological information of HER2+ and LN- breast cancer patients who underwent chemotherapy and surgery from The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (2010-2016, the Trastuzumab-based single-targeted therapy era). We subsequently explored the risk factors for breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) and overall survival (OS) using a Cox proportional hazards regression model, aiming to identify subgroups with worse prognosis, which would indicate potential demand for dual-targeted therapy. Three- and 5-year survival probability-predictive nomograms were established and subjected to bootstrap internal validation. The concordance index (C-index) and calibration curve were applied to evaluate the performance of the model.

RESULTS

After data cleansing, a total of 13,755 patients were included in the current analysis. Using univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression, higher clinical T stage, hormone receptors-negative (HR-), and partial mastectomy without radiotherapy were identified as independent risk factors for BCSS and OS in patients with HER2+ and LN- breast cancer. Nomograms for 3- and 5-year BCSS and OS incorporating the selected prognostic factors were established. Calibration curves verified good consistency between the actual and nomogram-predicted survival probability. The C-index values of the BCSS and OS predictions and 95% confidence interval (CI) were 0.773 (0.740-0.806) and 0.764 (0.737-0.791), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher clinical T stage, HR-, and partial mastectomy without radiotherapy predicted worse prognosis in patients with HER2+ and LN- breast cancer. In clinical practice, patients can be recommended for single-targeted or dual-targeted therapy according to the individualized factors.

Andrographolide Suppresses the Growth and Metastasis of Luminal-Like Breast Cancer by Inhibiting the NF-κB/miR-21-5p/PDCD4 Signaling Pathway

Tumor growth and metastasis are responsible for breast cancer-related mortality. Andrographolide (Andro) is a traditional anti-inflammatory drug used in the clinic that inhibits NF-κB activation. Recently, Andro has been found in the treatment of various cancers. Andro inhibits breast cell proliferation and invasion and induces apoptosis via activating various signaling pathways. Therefore, the underlying mechanisms with regard to the antitumor effects of Andro still need to be further confirmed. Herein, a MMTV-PyMT spontaneous luminal-like breast cancer lung metastatic transgenic tumor model was employed to estimate the antitumor effects of Andro on breast cancer in vivo. Andro significantly inhibited tumor growth and metastasis in MMTV-PyMT mice and suppressed the cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of MCF-7 breast cancer cells in vitro. Meanwhile, Andro significantly inhibited the expression of NF-κB, and the downregulated NF-κB reduced miR-21-5p expression. In addition, miR-21-5p dramatically inhibited the target gene expression of programmed cell death protein 4 (PDCD4). In the current study, we demonstrated the potential anticancer effects of Andro on luminal-like breast cancer and indicated that Andro inhibits the expression of miR-21-5p and further promotes PDCD4 via NF-κB suppression. Therefore, Andro could be an antitumor agent for the treatment of luminal-like breast cancer in the clinic.