Clinical outcomes after 1 versus 2-3 lines of neoadjuvant therapy in stage III inflammatory breast cancer

PURPOSE

Many stage III inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) patients experience a sufficient response to first-line (1L) neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) to allow surgery, while some require additional NAC. We evaluated the pathologic complete response (pCR), breast cancer-free survival (BCFS) and overall survival (OS) among patients requiring 1 vs. 2-3 lines (L) of NAC prior to surgery.

METHODS

Stage III IBC patients from 2 institutions who received 1L or 2-3L of NAC prior to surgery were identified. Hormone receptor and HER2 status, grade, and pCR were evaluated. BCFS and OS were evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariable Cox models were utilized to estimate the hazard ratio (HR).

RESULTS

808 eligible patients (1997-2020) were identified (median age 51 years, median follow-up 69 months). 733 (91%) had 1L and 75 (9%) had 2-3L of NAC. Grade III, triple-negative and HER2-positive disease were more prevalent in 2-3L patients. 178 (24%) 1L and 14 (19%) 2-3L patients had pCR. 376 1L patients and 41 2-3L patients had recurrences. The 5-year BCFS was worse for the 2-3L group (33 vs. 46%, HR = 1.37; 95% CI 0.99-1.91). However, in 192 patients with a pCR, BCFS was similar (76 vs. 83% in 1L vs. 2-3L, respectively). There were 308 deaths (276 among 1L and 32 among 2-3L patients). The 5-year OS in 1L vs. 2-3L was 60 vs. 53% (HR = 1.32, 95% CI 0.91-1.93).

CONCLUSIONS

Among stage III IBC patients, pCR rates were similar, irrespective of the NAC lines number, and BCFS and OS were comparable with pCR after 1L and 2-3L.

Inflammatory breast cancer: As surgical oncologists, what can we do?

Breast cancer surgery is the primary treatment for early-stage breast cancer. However, inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), with its specific presentation characterized by skin invasion, is unfit for primary surgery. According to the different guidelines, the management of IBC is trimodal with the coordination of oncologists, surgeons, and radiation therapists. Advances in breast cancer imaging and the development of more targeted therapies make new challenges for this aggressive cancer. This chapter aims to provide an update on the role of surgery in IBC. Radical surgery is still considered the standard surgical treatment in IBC. Some authors suggest a conservative surgery in patients with a clinical response to chemotherapy without affecting survival. For lymph node surgery, the sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is not feasible in IBC patients, according to the existing studies. However, prospective studies on SLNB are needed to verify its reliability after chemotherapy for a specific group of patients. In the metastatic IBC, surgery can be considered if there is a good response after chemotherapy or for uncontrolled symptoms. Existing studies showed that surgery may impact survival for these patients. Prospective studies are mandatory to optimize IBC management, considering factors such as tumor's molecular profile.

Inflammatory breast cancer: Epidemiologic data and therapeutic results

Since the early description more than a century ago, inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) remains an aggressive disease, with a different geographic repartition, with the highest ones incidence reported in the North of Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Egypt), and the lowest incidence in Western countries (USA, Europe…). In this study, we reviewed the literature using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database compared to other published series. We observed that in the high incidence areas (North of Africa) when compared to "classical" breast cancer, IBC was associated to younger age (less than 50 years) with rapid evolution of signs and symptoms (in less than 3 up to 6 months), and more aggressive clinical and histopathological-molecular parameters, due to the predominance of triple-negative and HER2+ subtypes in around 60% of cases. An epidemiologic trend was observed in both high and low incidence areas since the eighties are towards reduction of IBC prevalence. Concerning Tunisia, in comparison with the historical series of the 1980s, the incidence decreased in part by applying more stringent diagnostic criteria but also probably due to a slight improvement of the socio-economic level (SEL). This trend was also observed in the US, due to the efforts of collaborative IBC groups from MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC), Duke and IBC patient advocacy groups. Therapeutic results are slightly better due to the standardization of a multidisciplinary approach and the use of combined primary chemotherapy and/or targeted therapies (especially in HER2 positive patients), followed by mastectomy plus radiotherapy. The 5-year overall and disease-free survival is at more than 60%, related to an IBC mortality decrease observed in the cohorts of patients treated in the last decade.

TBCRC 039: a phase II study of preoperative ruxolitinib with or without paclitaxel for triple-negative inflammatory breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Patients with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) have overall poor clinical outcomes, with triple-negative IBC (TN-IBC) being associated with the worst survival, warranting the investigation of novel therapies. Preclinical studies implied that ruxolitinib (RUX), a JAK1/2 inhibitor, may be an effective therapy for TN-IBC.

METHODS

We conducted a randomized phase II study with nested window-of-opportunity in TN-IBC. Treatment-naïve patients received a 7-day run-in of RUX alone or RUX plus paclitaxel (PAC). After the run-in, those who received RUX alone proceeded to neoadjuvant therapy with either RUX + PAC or PAC alone for 12 weeks; those who had received RUX + PAC continued treatment for 12 weeks. All patients subsequently received 4 cycles of doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide prior to surgery. Research tumor biopsies were performed at baseline (pre-run-in) and after run-in therapy. Tumors were evaluated for phosphorylated STAT3 (pSTAT3) by immunostaining, and a subset was also analyzed by RNA-seq. The primary endpoint was the percent of pSTAT3-positive pre-run-in tumors that became pSTAT3-negative. Secondary endpoints included pathologic complete response (pCR).

RESULTS

Overall, 23 patients were enrolled, of whom 21 completed preoperative therapy. Two patients achieved pCR (8.7%). pSTAT3 and IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signaling decreased in post-run-in biopsies of RUX-treated samples, while sustained treatment with RUX + PAC upregulated IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signaling compared to RUX alone. Both treatments decreased GZMB+ T cells implying immune suppression. RUX alone effectively inhibited JAK/STAT3 signaling but its combination with PAC led to incomplete inhibition. The immune suppressive effects of RUX alone and in combination may negate its growth inhibitory effects on cancer cells.

CONCLUSION

In summary, the use of RUX in TN-IBC was associated with a decrease in pSTAT3 levels despite lack of clinical benefit. Cancer cell-specific-targeting of JAK2/STAT3 or combinations with immunotherapy may be required for further evaluation of JAK2/STAT3 signaling as a cancer therapeutic target.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

www.

CLINICALTRIALS

gov , NCT02876302. Registered 23 August 2016.

Treatment Response, Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes and Clinical Outcomes in Inflammatory Breast Cancer-Treated with Neoadjuvant Systemic Therapy

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare (1%-5%), aggressive form of breast cancer, accounting for approximately 10% of breast cancer mortality. In the localized setting, standard of care is neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) ± anti-HER2 therapy, followed by surgery. Here we investigated associations between clinicopathologic variables, stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTIL), and pathologic complete response (pCR), and the prognostic value of pCR. We included 494 localized patients with IBC treated with NACT from October 1996 to October 2021 in eight European hospitals. Standard clinicopathologic variables were collected and central pathologic review was performed, including sTIL. Associations were assessed using Firth logistic regression models. Cox regressions were used to evaluate the role of pCR and residual cancer burden (RCB) on disease-free survival (DFS), distant recurrence-free survival (DRFS), and overall survival (OS). Distribution according to receptor status was as follows: 26.4% estrogen receptor negative (ER-)/HER2-; 22.0% ER-/HER2+; 37.4% ER+/HER2-, and 14.1% ER+/HER2+. Overall pCR rate was 26.3%, being highest in the HER2+ groups (45.9% for ER-/HER2+ and 42.9% for ER+/HER2+). sTILs were low (median: 5.3%), being highest in the ER-/HER2- group (median: 10%). High tumor grade, ER negativity, HER2 positivity, higher sTILs, and taxane-based NACT were significantly associated with pCR. pCR was associated with improved DFS, DRFS, and OS in multivariable analyses. RCB score in patients not achieving pCR was independently associated with survival. In conclusion, sTILs were low in IBC, but were predictive of pCR. Both pCR and RCB have an independent prognostic role in IBC treated with NACT.

SIGNIFICANCE

IBC is a rare, but very aggressive type of breast cancer. The prognostic role of pCR after systemic therapy and the predictive value of sTILs for pCR are well established in the general breast cancer population; however, only limited information is available in IBC. We assembled the largest retrospective IBC series so far and demonstrated that sTIL is predictive of pCR. We emphasize that reaching pCR remains of utmost importance in IBC.

Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Understanding the Patient Experience

BACKGROUND

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is an aggressive, locally advanced cancer with a 5-year survival rate of approximately 40%. Although patients with IBC likely experience significant and variable symptom burden from diagnosis through survivorship, the description of the symptom burden in this population is limited.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to describe the experience of patients with IBC and define the content domain for a patient-reported outcome measure of IBC symptom burden.

METHODS

Twenty patients with IBC described their experience in single qualitative interviews. Content analysis was used to define the symptom burden content domain. Relevance ratings by a panel of experts reduced the number of items for a preliminary patient-reported outcome symptom burden measure.

RESULTS

The mean (SD) participant age was 52.8 (12.0) years; 50.0% had distant metastatic disease, and 85.0% were currently receiving treatment. Content analysis revealed 45 symptoms, with 20 symptoms reported by greater than or equal to 20% of participants. All participants described localized disease-related symptoms. Treatment-related symptoms varied among participants based on the modalities received.

CONCLUSION

Patients with IBC experience symptom burden that is distinct from the symptom burden experienced by patients with non-IBC.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Differentiating the disease-related symptoms of IBC may assist clinicians in making timely and accurate diagnoses for IBC. A disease- and treatment-specific measure of the symptom burden of IBC should be incorporated in clinical practice to allow for regular assessment and evaluation of symptom burden and implementation of evidence-based interventions for symptom management.

Preoperative Radiation Therapy for Chemorefractory Localized Inflammatory Breast Cancer

PURPOSE

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare breast cancer subtype. Chemorefractory nonmetastatic IBC, defined by locoregional progression under neoadjuvant chemotherapy, is a rare situation with few therapeutic options. Owing to the rarity of this clinical presentation and the lack of specific data, no specific management guidelines exist. We evaluated whether preoperative radiation therapy/chemoradiotherapy could achieve locoregional control after first-line neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with IBC.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Patients with chemorefractory disease receiving preoperative radiation therapy were identified from a retrospective multicenter cohort of consecutive patients with IBC diagnosed between 2010 and 2017 at 7 oncology centers in France.

RESULTS

Overall, 18 patients among the 364 patients (5%) treated for IBC had progressive disease during neoadjuvant chemotherapy. These patients had aggressive tumors with lymph node involvement at diagnosis (n = 17; 94.4%), triple-negative subtype (n = 11; 61.1%), Scarff Bloom and Richardson grade 3 (n = 10; 55.6%), and high Ki67 (median, 56.0%). After preoperative radiation therapy, all patients had a complete (n = 1; 5.6%) or partial (n = 17; 94.4%) locoregional response. One patient (5.6%) experienced acute grade 3 dermatitis. Twelve (66.7%) patients underwent surgery as planned. The estimated median follow-up was 31 months. The median overall survival, disease-free survival, distant metastases-free survival, and locoregional recurrence-free survival were 19 months, 4.5 months, 5 months, and 6 months, respectively. Ultimate locoregional control was obtained for 11 patients (61.1%), and 13 patients (72.2%) experienced metastatic progression. Triple-negative subtype (hazard ratio [HR], 15.54; P = .011) and surgery (HR, 0.23; P = .030) were significantly associated with overall survival in the univariate analysis. In multivariate analyses, the triple-negative subtype remained a significant prognostic factor (HR, 13.04; P = .021) for overall survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Preoperative radiation therapy is a feasible approach with acceptable toxicities. It allowed surgery and ultimate locoregional control in a majority of patients. The lack of translation into better survival has been a challenge, in part owing to the metastatic propensity of patients with chemorefractory IBC, especially in the overrepresented triple-negative population in this series.

Dysregulated Stem Cell Markers Musashi-1 and Musashi-2 are Associated with Therapy Resistance in Inflammatory Breast Cancer

BACKGROUND AND AIM

While preliminary evidence points to pro-tumorigenic roles for the Musashi (MSI) RNA-binding proteins Musashi-1 (MSI1) and Musashi-2 (MSI2) in some breast cancer subtypes, no data exist for inflammatory breast cancer (IBC).

METHODS

MSI gene expression was quantified in IBC SUM149PT cells. We then used small interfering RNA-based MSI1 and MSI2 double knockdown (DKD) to understand gene expression and functional changes upon MSI depletion. We characterized cancer stem cell characteristics, cell apoptosis and cell cycle progression via flow cytometry, mammospheres via spheroid assays, migration and proliferation via digital holographic microscopy, and cell viability using BrdU assays. Chemoresistance was determined for paclitaxel and cisplatin with MTT assays and radioresistance was assessed with clonogenic analyses. In parallel, we supported our in vitro data by analyzing publicly available patient IBC gene expression datasets.

RESULTS

MSI1 and MSI2 are upregulated in breast cancer generally and IBC specifically. MSI2 is more commonly expressed compared to MSI1. MSI DKD attenuated proliferation, cell cycle progression, migration, and cell viability while increasing apoptosis. Stem cell characteristics CD44(+)/CD24(-), TERT and Oct4 were associated with MSI expression in vivo and were decreased in vitro after MSI DKD as was ALDH expression and mammosphere formation. In vivo, chemoresistant tumors were characterized by MSI upregulation upon chemotherapy application. In vitro, MSI DKD was able to alleviate chemo- and radioresistance.

CONCLUSIONS

The Musashi RNA binding proteins are dysregulated in IBC and associated with tumor proliferation, cancer stem cell phenotype, chemo- and radioresistance. MSI downregulation alleviates therapy resistance and attenuates tumor proliferation in vitro.

EGFR is a master switch between immunosuppressive and immunoactive tumor microenvironment in inflammatory breast cancer

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), the most aggressive breast cancer subtype, is driven by an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Current treatments for IBC have limited efficacy. In a clinical trial (NCT01036087), an anti-EGFR antibody combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy produced the highest pathological complete response rate ever reported in patients with IBC having triple-negative receptor status. We determined the molecular and immunological mechanisms behind this superior clinical outcome. Using novel humanized IBC mouse models, we discovered that EGFR-targeted therapy remodels the IBC TME by increasing cytotoxic T cells and reducing immunosuppressive regulatory T cells and M2 macrophages. These changes were due to diminishing immunosuppressive chemokine expression regulated by transcription factor EGR1. We also showed that induction of an immunoactive IBC TME by an anti-EGFR antibody improved the antitumor efficacy of an anti-PD-L1 antibody. Our findings lay the foundation for clinical trials evaluating EGFR-targeted therapy combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with cancer.

MARCKS as a Potential Therapeutic Target in Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most pro-metastatic form of breast cancer (BC). We previously demonstrated that protein overexpression of Myristoylated Alanine-Rich C Kinase Substrate (MARCKS) protein was associated with shorter survival in IBC patients. MARCKS has been associated with the PI3K/AKT pathway. MARCKS inhibitors are in development. Our objective was to investigate MARCKS, expressed preferentially in IBC that non-IBC (nIBC), as a novel potential therapeutic target for IBC. The biologic activity of MPS, a MARCKS peptide inhibitor, on cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and mammosphere formation was evaluated in IBC (SUM149 and SUM190) and nIBC (MDA-MB-231 and MCF7) cell lines, as well as its effects on protein expression in the PTEN/AKT and MAPK pathways. The prognostic relevance of MARCKS and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) protein expression as a surrogate marker of metastasis-free survival (MFS) was evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in a retrospective series of archival tumor samples derived from 180 IBC patients and 355 nIBC patients. In vitro MPS impaired cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and mammosphere formation in IBC cells. MARCKS inhibition upregulated PTEN and downregulated pAKT and pMAPK expression in IBC cells, but not in nIBC cells. By IHC, MARCKS expression and PTEN expression were negatively correlated in IBC samples and were associated with shorter MFS and longer MFS, respectively, in multivariate analysis. The combination of MARCKS-/PTEN+ protein status was associated with longer MFS in IBC patient only (p = 8.7 × 10⁻³), and mirrored the molecular profile (MARCKS-downregulated/PTEN-upregulated) of MPS-treated IBC cell lines. In conclusion, our results uncover a functional role of MARCKS implicated in IBC aggressiveness. Associated with the good-prognosis value of the MARCKS-/PTEN+ protein status that mirrors the molecular profile of MPS-treated IBC cell lines, our results suggest that MARCKS could be a potential therapeutic target in patients with MARCKS-positive IBC. Future preclinical studies using a larger panel of IBC cell lines, animal models and analysis of a larger series of clinical samples are warranted in order to validate our results.

Forecasting factors and outcomes in hawkish inflammatory breast carcinoma - A single center data exploration

INTRODUCTION

Inflammatory breast carcinoma (IBC) is an aggressive clinical syndrome of invasive breast carcinoma. There is paucity of data regarding the outcomes in IBC.

OBJECTIVES

Analyses of OS and Event-free survival (EFS) in nonmetastatic and metastatic IBC and to find prognostic factors influencing them.

METHODOLOGY

In this single center, retrospective study the data of patients fulfilling the clinical criteria of IBC were retrieved from 2016 to 2021. The impact of prognostic factors on OS and EFS were analysed by log rank test (univariate analysis). The OS and EFS were depicted as Kaplan Meier survival curves.

RESULTS

There were 22 patients with IBC. Median follow-up was 17 months. The median OS was significantly better in non-metastatic(M0) compared to metastatic IBC (25 months vs 6 months) with 3year OS rate of 50% vs 0% respectively. The post-menopausal status, grade 2 histology and trimodality treatment showed better outcome while N3 stage at diagnosis had worse outcome in M0 group. The lesser HR expression, lesser pCR rates, higher N3 proportion, liver metastasis and multiple metastatic site involvement contributed to the worse outcome observed in this study.

CONCLUSION

The aggressive clinicopathological features of IBC in the present study resulted in less favourable outcome compared to literature review. Improved outcome with trimodality highlights the emergent need for additional targeted therapy to improve pCR and operability.

Inflammatory breast cancer with excellent response to pembrolizumab-chemotherapy combination: A case report

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare variety of breast cancer accounting for two percent of breast cancer diagnoses in the United States. It is characterized by peau d'orange, breast edema and erythema on physical examination and dermal lymphatic invasion by tumor emboli on histological examination. Micrometastases to lymphatics and bone marrow at the time of diagnosis and angiogenic properties of IBC explain the high propensity of this cancer to relapse and metastasize, its aggressiveness and poor prognosis. Preoperative sequential anthracycline and taxane (plus trastuzumab and pertuzumab if HER2-positive) based chemotherapy is the current standard of care for IBC. We herein report a case of stage IIIC triple-negative IBC treated with pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy based neoadjuvant therapy with a complete clinical and complete pathological response. This is the first case of triple-negative IBC treated with this regimen reported in the literature, thereby providing clinical data on the tolerability and efficacy of pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy based neoadjuvant regimen for the treatment of IBC.

[Inflammatory Breast Cancer Treated with Multidisciplinary Treatment-A Report of Two Cases]

Case 1: A 77-year-old woman presented with redness and swelling with a peau d'orange appearance in the whole left breast. She was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer(T4dN1M0, stage ⅢB of the basal-like subtype). Four courses of FEC followed by 4 courses of docetaxel as the primary systemic therapy were effective. She underwent mastectomy and axillary dissection, and pathological examination revealed a partial response. She received radiation therapy after surgery. At present, 5 years after surgery, the patient is alive without recurrence. Case 2: A 46-year-old woman presented with redness and swelling with a peau d'orange appearance in the whole left breast and edema of the left arm. She was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer(T4dN3M1, stage Ⅳ of the HER2 subtype)with bone metastasis and cancerous pleurisy. After 4 courses of FEC as the primary systemic therapy, the breast tumor disappeared, but pleural effusion persisted. Subsequent chemotherapy with pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and docetaxel was effective, as computed tomography showed no lesions. She underwent mastectomy and axillary dissection, and pathological examination revealed a complete response. She received radiation therapy after surgery. At present, 2 years after surgery, the patient is alive without recurrence.

Literature-Wide Association Studies (LWAS) for a Rare Disease: Drug Repurposing for Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Drug repurposing is an effective means for rapid drug discovery. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a computational methodology based on Literature-Wide Association Studies (LWAS) of PubMed to repurpose existing drugs for a rare inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). We have developed a methodology that conducted LWAS based on the text mining technology Word2Vec. 3.80 million "cancer"-related PubMed abstracts were processed as the corpus for Word2Vec to derive vector representation of biological concepts. These vectors for drugs and diseases served as the foundation for creating similarity maps of drugs and diseases, respectively, which were then employed to find potential therapy for IBC. Three hundred and thirty-six (336) known drugs and three hundred and seventy (370) diseases were expressed as vectors in this study. Nine hundred and seventy (970) previously known drug-disease association pairs among these drugs and diseases were used as the reference set. Based on the hypothesis that similar drugs can be used against similar diseases, we have identified 18 diseases similar to IBC, with 24 corresponding known drugs proposed to be the repurposing therapy for IBC. The literature search confirmed most known drugs tested for IBC, with four of them being novel candidates. We conclude that LWAS based on the Word2Vec technology is a novel approach to drug repurposing especially useful for rare diseases.

Treatment patterns, clinical outcomes, health resource utilization, and cost in patients with BRCA-mutated metastatic breast cancer treated in community oncology settings

PURPOSE

This retrospective study of community oncology patients with breast cancer gene (BRCA)-mutated metastatic breast cancer (MBC) examined treatment outcomes and health resource utilization (HRU) and costs for a sample of patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative disease who were either hormone receptor positive (HR+) or triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).

METHODS

Evidence from the Vector Oncology Data Warehouse, a repository of electronic medical records/billing data and provider notes, was analyzed. Treatment outcomes were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) from start of first-line therapy in the metastatic setting. HRU and cost measures were collected from the time of MBC diagnosis to end of the record. HRU included hospitalizations, emergency room visits, infused/parenteral supportive care drugs, and outpatient visits. Costs were computed both as total and monthly costs.

RESULTS

57 HR+ and 57 TNBC patients (2013-2015) met inclusion criteria. Eight TNBC patients did not get treatment. HR+ patients had median first line PFS of 12.1 months and TNBC patients had 6.1 months. HR+ patients had median OS from start of first line of 38.4 months, and TNBC patients had 23.4 months. Rate of use of infused/parenteral supportive care drugs was 25.5% overall and 36.7% among TNBC patients with 15.8% among HR+ patients.

CONCLUSION

There is an unmet need in BRCA-mutated patients with MBC, including those with HR+ and TNBC disease. The unmet need among TNBC patients was most evident in that 12% were not treated and TNBC patients appeared to have poor treatment outcomes.

MICRO ABSTRACT

Reviewed medical records for outcomes, resource utilization, and costs in 114 community patients with BRCA mutated metastatic breast cancer. 57 hormone positive (HP); 57 triple negative (TN).

RESULTS

median PFS: 12.1 months HP; 6.1 TN. HP OS was 38.4; TN 23.4. Rate of infused supportive care drugs: 25.5% HP; 36.7% TN. Patients with TN disease need better therapeutic options.

Clinically relevant inflammatory breast cancer patient-derived xenograft-derived ex vivo model for evaluation of tumor-specific therapies

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare and aggressive presentation of invasive breast cancer with a 62% to 68% 5-year survival rate. It is the most lethal form of breast cancer, and early recognition and treatment is important for patient survival. Like non-inflammatory breast cancer, IBC comprises multiple subtypes, with the triple-negative subtype being overrepresented. Although the current multimodality treatment regime of anthracycline- and taxane-based neoadjuvant therapy, surgery, and radiotherapy has improved the outcome of patients with triple-negative IBC, overall survival continues to be worse than in patients with non-inflammatory locally advanced breast cancer. Translation of new therapies into the clinics to successfully treat IBC has been poor, in part because of the lack of in vitro preclinical models that can accurately predict the response of the original tumor to therapy. We report the generation of a preclinical IBC patient-derived xenograft (PDX)-derived ex vivo (PDXEx) model and show that it closely replicates the tissue architecture of the original PDX tumor harvested from mice. The gene expression profile of our IBC PDXEx model had a high degree of correlation to that of the original tumor. This suggests that the process of generating the PDXEx model did not significantly alter the molecular signature of the original tumor. We demonstrate a high degree of similarity in drug response profile between a PDX mouse model and our PDXEx model generated from the same original PDX tumor tissue and treated with the same panel of drugs, indicating that our PDXEx model had high predictive value in identifying effective tumor-specific therapies. Finally, we used our PDXEx model as a platform for a robotic-based high-throughput drug screen of a 386-drug anti-cancer compound library. The top candidates identified from this drug screen all demonstrated greater therapeutic efficacy than the standard-of-care drugs used in the clinic to treat triple-negative IBC, doxorubicin and paclitaxel. Our PDXEx model is simple, and we are confident that it can be incorporated into a PDX mouse system for use as a first-pass screening platform. This will permit the identification of effective tumor-specific therapies with high predictive value in a resource-, time-, and cost-efficient manner.

Risk of rash associated with vandetanib treatment in non-small-cell lung cancer patients: A meta-analysis of 9 randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND

Vandetanib is a promising anticancer target agent for treating advanced carcinomas, such as non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and breast cancer. Rash is a frequently reported adverse event of vandetanib. We conducted this meta-analysis to determine the incidence rate and overall risks of all-grade and high-grade rash with vandetanib in NSCLC patients.

METHODS

PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and Cochrane Library were systematically searched to identify studies with vandetanib and rash in NSCLC patients. Data were extracted to calculate the pooled incidence of all-grade and high-grade (grade ≥3) rash caused by vandetanib treatment.

RESULTS

Nine randomized controlled trials involving 4893 patients met the inclusion criteria and were included in this meta-analysis. The overall incidence of all-grade and high-grade rash caused by vandetanib treatment was 46% (95% CI: 37.1%, 54.8%), and 3.2% (95% CI: 1.4%, 5.1%), respectively. The risk ratios (RR) of all-grade and high-grade rash for vandetanib treatment versus control treatment were 2.35 (95% CI: 1.20, 4.61; P < .001) and 4.68 (95% CI 1.42, 15.37; P < .001), respectively. Subgroup analysis suggested that the increased risk of all-grade rash was clear across all subgroups, including first-line/second-line therapy, phase 2/phase 3 trial, sample size </>200, a dosage of 100 or 300 mg, and monotherapy/combination therapy. However, for the high-grade rash, vandetanib did not increase the risk of rash when it was used in first-line therapy, or in a phase II trial, or in a trial with sample size <200.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that vandetanib was associated with a significantly increased risk of rash. Therefore, early recognition and appropriate monitoring should be taken when NSCLC patients were treated with vandetanib.

Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Enhances the Efficacy of MEK Inhibitor through NOXA-Mediated MCL1 Degradation in Triple-Negative and Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Purpose: Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), diagnosed clinically, and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), diagnosed by molecular receptor status, are the two most aggressive forms of breast cancer, and both lack effective targeted therapies. We previously demonstrated involvement of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor entinostat in regulating apoptosis in IBC and TNBC cells; here, we aimed to identify novel combination therapy candidates.Experimental Design: Potential therapeutic targets were identified by mRNA expression profiling of TNBC and IBC cells treated with entinostat. Drug action and synergism were assessed by in vitro proliferation assays, tumor growth in vivo, and proteomic analyses. Gain/loss-of-expression studies were utilized to functionally validate the role of identified targets in sensitivity of TNBC and IBC cells to combination therapy.Results: Entinostat induced activity of the oncogenic ERK pathway and expression of proapoptotic NOXA. These are known to stabilize and degrade, respectively, MCL1, an antiapoptotic Bcl-2 protein. In breast cancer patients, high-MCL1/low-NOXA tumor expression correlated significantly with poor survival outcomes. Combination treatment of entinostat with MEK inhibitor pimasertib reduced the growth of TNBC and IBC cells in vitro and inhibited tumor growth in vivo The synergistic action of combination therapy was observed in TNBC and IBC cell lines in which NOXA expression was induced following entinostat treatment. The therapeutic activity depended on induction of mitochondrial cell death pathways initiated by NOXA-mediated MCL1 degradation.Conclusions: Our preclinical findings provide a rationale for the clinical testing of combination HDAC and MEK pathway inhibition for TNBC and IBC that exhibit elevated baseline tumor MCL1 expression. Clin Cancer Res; 23(16); 4780-92. ©2017 AACR.

Bisphenol A activates EGFR and ERK promoting proliferation, tumor spheroid formation and resistance to EGFR pathway inhibition in estrogen receptor-negative inflammatory breast cancer cells

Emerging evidence from epidemiological studies suggests a link between environmental chemical exposure and progression of aggressive breast cancer subtypes. Of all clinically distinct types of breast cancers, the most lethal phenotypic variant is inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). Overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR/HER2) along with estrogen receptor (ER) negativity is common in IBC tumor cells, which instead of a solid mass present as rapidly proliferating diffuse tumor cell clusters. Our previous studies have demonstrated a role of an adaptive response of increased antioxidants in acquired resistance to EGFR-targeting drugs in IBC. Environmental chemicals are known to induce oxidative stress resulting in perturbations in signal transduction pathways. It is therefore of interest to identify chemicals that can potentiate EGFR mitogenic effects in IBC. Herein, we assessed in ER-negative IBC cells a subset of chemicals from the EPA ToxCast set for their effect on EGFR activation and in multiple cancer phenotypic assays. We demonstrated that endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA) and 2,2-bis(p-hydroxyphenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane can increase EGFR/ERK signaling. BPA also caused a corresponding increase in expression of SOD1 and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2, key markers of antioxidant and anti-apoptotic processes. BPA potentiated clonogenic growth and tumor spheroid formation in vitro, reflecting IBC-specific pathological characteristics. Furthermore, we identified that BPA was able to attenuate the inhibitory effect of an EGFR targeted drug in a longer-term anchorage-independent growth assay. These findings provide a potential mechanistic basis for environmental chemicals such as BPA in potentiating a hyperproliferative and death-resistant phenotype in cancer cells by activating mitogenic pathways to which the tumor cells are addicted for survival.

[A Case of HER2-Positive Inflammatory Breast Cancer for Which Preoperative Chemotherapy with Pertuzumab Resulted in a Pathological Complete Response]

A 52-year-old woman presented with redness and swelling with a peau d'orange appearance in the whole right breast. Ultrasound revealed elevated subcutaneus fat density and a diffuse hypoechoic area. She was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer(T4dN2M0, Stage III B of the HER2 subtype). After 4 courses of EC treatment as primary systemic therapy, the hypoechoic area was still present. Subsequent chemotherapy with pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and docetaxel was effective, as hypoechoic area was not observed on ultrasound. She underwent mastectomy and axillary dissection, and pathological examination revealed pCR. At present, 2 years after surgery, the patient is alive with no reccurence.

Intratumoural inflammation and endocrine resistance in breast cancer

It is becoming clear that inflammation-associated mechanisms can affect progression of breast cancer and modulate responses to treatment. Estrogen receptor alpha (ERα (ESR1)) is the principal biomarker and therapeutic target for endocrine therapies in breast cancer. Over 70% of patients are ESR1-positive at diagnosis and are candidates for endocrine therapy. However, ESR1-positive tumours can become resistant to endocrine therapy. Multiple mechanisms of endocrine resistance have been proposed, including suppression of ESR1. This review discusses the relationship between intratumoural inflammation and endocrine resistance with a particular focus on inflammation-mediated suppression of ESR1.

Long-term follow-up of breast-conserving therapy in patients with inflammatory breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. Currently, multimodality treatment is recommended, but the optimal surgical management has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we investigated the long-term outcomes of using breast-conserving therapy in patients with IBC undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Twenty-four patients with IBC were treated from 2002 to 2006. NAC was initiated with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by paclitaxel. In addition, HER2/neu-positive patients received trastuzumab, whereas HER2/neu-negative patients received bevacizumab. Clinical response was assessed by dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging before surgery and pathologic response after surgery. A partial mastectomy with sentinel lymph node biopsy and/or axillary lymph node dissection or a modified radical mastectomy was performed based on the surgeon's recommendations and patient's preference. All patients received adjuvant radiation. Of the 24 patients, seven (29%) underwent a partial mastectomy and 17 (71%) underwent a mastectomy. The overall survival rate for partial mastectomy and for mastectomy patients was 59 and 57 per cent (P = 0.49), respectively, at a median follow-up of 60 months (range, 48 to 92 months). Breast-conserving therapy can be considered in a selected group of patients who demonstrate a good response to NAC.

Impact of itraconazole on the survival of heavily pre-treated patients with triple-negative breast cancer

BACKGROUND/AIM

Recurrent triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients have poor prognoses and limited treatment options, especially after progression during prior chemotherapy. The present study aimed to determine the impact of itraconazole with chemotherapy in these patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Medical records of recurrent TNBC patients receiving itraconazole with chemotherapy between 2008 and 2012 were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS

Thirteen patients who progressed during prior chemotherapy (12 with visceral organ metastases) were enrolled. All patients had received docetaxel, carboplatin, and gemcitabine with itraconazole. Additionally, 3 patients with pleural effusion and 2 with inflammatory breast cancer received bevacizumab. No febrile neutropenia, platelet transfusion, or chemotherapy-related death was observed during treatment with itraconazole. The response rate, median progression-free survival, and median overall survival were 62% (95% confidence interval (CI): 35-88%), 10.8 months (95%CI: 7.6-15.3 months), and 20.4 months (95%CI: 13.1-41.4 months), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Chemotherapy with itraconazole is promising for heavily pre-treated TNBC patients.

[Case of a patient with inflammatory breast cancer who responded to preoperative chemotherapy with paclitaxel plus bevacizumab and could subsequently undergo surgery]

A 58-year-old woman observed swelling in her left breast a few weeks prior to presentation. Rigidity in the D area, breast warmth, swelling, and a peau d'orange appearance in the whole left breast was observed. She was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer (luminal A type) T4dN2M0, Stage IIIB. The patient underwent primary systemic therapy with 7 courses of FEC. Following FEC treatment, the disease was stable. We subsequently administered 4 courses of bevacizumab plus paclitaxel combination therapy. The patient exhibited a partial response to FEC chemotherapy. Thereafter, a left mastectomy with level II axillary lymph node dissection was performed. At present, 1 year after surgery, the patient is alive with no recurrence. We conclude that the combination therapy of bevacizumab plus paclitaxel is a useful treatment for inflammatory breast cancer.

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibits stem-like inflammatory breast cancer cells

Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) is a highly aggressive form of cancer characterized by high rates of proliferation, lymphangiogenesis and metastasis, and an overall poor survival. As regular green tea consumption has been associated with improved prognosis of breast cancer patients, including decreased risk of recurrence, here the effects of the green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) were tested on two IBC lines: SUM-149 and SUM-190. EGCG decreased expression of genes that promote proliferation, migration, invasion, and survival. Consistently, growth, invasive properties, and survival of IBC cells were reduced by EGCG treatment. EGCG also reduced lymphangiogenesis-promoting genes, in particular VEGF-D. Conditioned media from EGCG-treated IBC cells displayed decreased VEGF-D secretion and reduced ability to promote lymphangiogenesis in vitro as measured by hTERT-HDLEC lymphatic endothelial cell migration and tube formation. Tumorsphere formation by SUM-149 cells was robustly inhibited by EGCG, suggesting effects on self-renewal ability. Stem-like SUM-149 cells with high aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity, previously implicated in poor patient prognosis, were isolated. EGCG treatment reduced growth and induced apoptosis of the stem-like SUM-149 cells in culture. In an orthotopic mouse model, EGCG decreased growth of pre-existing tumors derived from ALDH-positive stem-like SUM-149 cells and their expression of VEGF-D, which correlated with a significant decrease in peritumoral lymphatic vessel density. Thus, EGCG inhibits the overall aggressive IBC phenotype. Reduction of the stem-like cell compartment by EGCG may explain the decreased risk of breast cancer recurrence among green tea drinkers. Recent clinical trials demonstrate the efficacy of green tea polyphenol extracts in treatment of prostate cancer and lymphocytic leukemia with low toxicity. Given the poor prognosis of IBC patients, our findings suggest further exploration of EGCG or green tea in combinatorial treatments against active IBC disease or in maintenance regimens to avoid recurrence is warranted.

The class I HDAC inhibitor Romidepsin targets inflammatory breast cancer tumor emboli and synergizes with paclitaxel to inhibit metastasis

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most metastatic variant of locally advanced breast cancer. IBC has distinctive characteristics including invasion of tumor emboli into the skin and rapid disease progression. Given our previous studies suggesting that HDAC inhibitors have promise in targeting IBC, the present study revealed that the class I HDAC inhibitor Romidepsin (FK-288, Istodax; Celgene Corporation, Summit, NJ) potently induced destruction of IBC tumor emboli and lymphatic vascular architecture. associated with inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha, (HIF1alpha) proteins in the Mary-X pre-clinical model of IBC. Romidepsin treatment induced clinically relevant biomarkers in including induction of acetylated Histone 3 (Ac-H3) proteins, apoptosis, and increased p21WAF1/CIP1. Romidepsin, alone and synergistically when combined with Paclitaxel, effectively eliminated both primary tumors and metastatic lesions at multiple sites formed by the SUM149 IBC cell line. This is the first report of the ability of an HDAC inhibitor to eradicate IBC tumor emboli, to destroy the integrity of lymphatic vessel architecture and to target metastasis. Furthermore, Romidepsin, in combination with a taxane, warrants evaluation as a therapeutic strategy that may effectively target the skin involvement and rapid metastasis that are hallmarks of IBC.

[HER2-positive breast cancer: standard and double targeted therapy]

Neoadjuvant systemic therapy is frequently used option for the systemic treatment for breast cancer. Inclusion in the regimen of targeted drugs as trastuzumab (Herceptin) and pertuzumab significantly improves outcomes in HER2-positive breast cancer patients. A certain part of HER2-positive patients can be cured by using only targeted drugs without chemotherapy.

Dose-dense intensified sequential versus conventionally-dosed anthracycline and taxane-containing neoadjuvant therapy in patients with inflammatory breast cancer

BACKGROUND

This post-hoc analysis aimed to compare an intense dose-dense sequential chemotherapy (DD-CT) and a conventionally-dosed chemotherapy (CD-CT) in the neoadjuvant AGO-1 study, focusing on the subgroup with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Out of 668 randomised patients, 101 patients presented with IBC. Patients received epirubicin followed by paclitaxel every 2 weeks (DD-CT) or simultaneously every 3 weeks (CD-CT).

RESULTS

No differences in pathological complete response rates were observed [odds ratio (OR)=1.27, p=0.33]. Most patients were scheduled for mastectomy before starting therapy; however, in 21.7% breast-conserving surgery was performed. Disease-free survival rates [Hazard Ratio (HR)=0.65; p=0.597] and overall survival rates (HR=1.40; p=0.327) were similar for both treatment arms. Patients with breast-conserving surgery had a significantly better outcome than patients treated with mastectomy (disease-free survival: HR=0.41; p=0.034 and overall survival: HR=0.09; p=0.003).

CONCLUSION

Patients with IBC benefited not from DD-CT but from breast-conserving surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

[A multicenter study of epirubicin-docetaxel(ET)as primary chemotherapy for patients with inflammatory breast cancer(IBC)]

We evaluated the efficacy and safety of the epirubicin plus docetaxel(ET)regimen, which is a combination of active agents given to patients with inflammatory breast cancer(IBC)as a primary therapy. Nineteen patients received ET(60, 60mg/m2) every 3 weeks for 4 courses, and appropriate surgery was offered unless disease progression occurred. Seventeen patients completed the ET regimen and 1 patient was excluded because of no diffuse erythema, leaving 18 patients evaluable for the response and safety profile of this regimen. Grade 3/4 hematological toxicities were neutropenia in 15 patients(79%), febrile neutropenia in 8 patients(42%)and anemia in 3 patients(16%). Six patients(63%)received granulocyte colony-stimulating factor for febrile neutropenia. Febrile neutropenia was observed only for 1 course in all 6 patients and progression to apparent infection was not observed. Grade 3/4 non-hematological toxicities were constipation in 3, nausea in 2, anorexia in 2, fatigue in 1, vomiting in 1, diarrhea in 1, and stomatitis in 1 patient. The ET regimen was given to 16 patients(89%)as planned. The median number of courses was 4(range: 2-4). The clinical response rate was 44%. The median time to progression was 9 months, and median overall survival was 26 months. It is concluded that the ET regimen was well tolerated and effective as a primary chemotherapy for IBC.

Inflammatory breast cancer: what we know and what we need to learn

PURPOSE

We review the current status of multidisciplinary care for patients with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) and discuss what further research is needed to advance the care of patients with this disease.

DESIGN

We performed a comprehensive review of the English-language literature on IBC through computerized literature searches.

RESULTS

Significant advances in imaging, including digital mammography, high-resolution ultrasonography with Doppler capabilities, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography-computed tomography, have improved the diagnosis and staging of IBC. There are currently no established molecular criteria for distinguishing IBC from noninflammatory breast cancer. Such criteria would be helpful for the diagnosis and development of novel targeted therapies. Combinations of neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation therapy have led to an improved prognosis; however, the overall 5-year survival rate for patients with IBC remains very low (∼30%). Sentinel lymph node biopsy and skin-sparing mastectomy are not recommended for patients with IBC.

CONCLUSION

Optimal management of IBC requires close coordination among medical, surgical, and radiation oncologists, as well as radiologists and pathologists. There is a need to identify molecular changes that define the pathogenesis of IBC to enable eradication of IBC with the use of IBC-specific targeted therapies.

Clinical and pathological response to induction chemotherapy used as a prognostic factor in inflammatory breast cancer. Single institution experience

PURPOSE

To evaluate clinical and pathological characteristics of patients with inflammatory breast carcinoma (IBC). Also, to evaluate the importance of achieved clinical and pathological responses to induction chemotherapy (iCT) and their role in the prognosis of IBC.

METHODS

The medical records of 81 female patients with stage IIIB IBC, diagnosed between January 2008 and December 2010 at the Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia (IORS) were evaluated. Almost all of the patients received anthracycline-based iCT. After 3-4 cycles of iCT, the clinical response (defined as complete response/CR, partial response/PR, stable disease/SD and disease progression/ PD) was assessed. Also, pathological response to iCT (defined as pathological complete response/pCR, near complete response/pNCR, partial response/pPR and no change/ pNC) was estimated in patients who had undergone surgery. All first metastatic sites were recorded.

RESULTS

Clinical CR/PR was observed in 61.8% of the patients, while the pathological response (pCR, pNCR/near complete response, and pPR) rate in patients who had undergone surgery was 70%. During follow-up 22 (27.2%) patients developed PD (8 responders and 14 non-responders). Most common metastatic sites were the skeleton in non-responders and the liver in responders. Central nervous system (CNS) metastases developed in 24% of non-responders while no responder developed such metastases. Non-responders had shorter OS compared to responders, but without statistical significance.

CONCLUSION

Although the number of the patients analysed in this study is relatively small, we believe that response to iCT could be used as a prognostic marker, since patients who initially failed to respond to iCT showed a higher risk for PD with development of distant metastases, primarily in bones and CNS, and shorter survival.

Surgery following neoadjuvant therapy in patients with HER2-positive locally advanced or inflammatory breast cancer participating in the NeOAdjuvant Herceptin (NOAH) study

AIM

To describe surgical outcomes in patients with HER2-positive locally advanced (LABC) or inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) participating in the NeOAdjuvant Herceptin (NOAH) study (ISRCTN86043495).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 235 patients with HER2-positive disease were randomized to neoadjuvant trastuzumab plus chemotherapy (doxorubicin plus paclitaxel, followed by paclitaxel, followed by cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and fluorouracil) or neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone. Of these patients, 228 received their allocated treatment (115 received trastuzumab plus chemotherapy and 113 received chemotherapy alone) and were potentially eligible for surgery. Mastectomy was required for all patients with IBC and was recommended for all patients with LABC. However, breast-conserving therapy could be considered for patients with peripheral neoplasms measuring ≤ 4 cm in diameter at diagnosis, with a favorable ratio of tumor to breast volume, or at the patient's request if there had been a good response to treatment.

RESULTS

As previously reported, the addition of trastuzumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy improved the overall, complete and pathological complete response to therapy and significantly improved event-free survival (the primary endpoint of the study). Trastuzumab also enabled more patients to have breast conserving surgery (BCS) (23% versus 13% respectively) without an apparent detrimental effect on local disease control (no patient treated with trastuzumab plus chemotherapy had experienced a local recurrence after BCS at the time of analysis).

CONCLUSIONS

Although this was not an aim of the trial, neoadjuvant trastuzumab given concurrently with chemotherapy enabled 23% of patients with HER2-positive LABC/IBC to avoid mastectomy (including a small number of patients with IBC).

Polycomb group protein EZH2 is frequently expressed in inflammatory breast cancer and is predictive of worse clinical outcome

BACKGROUND

Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), a member of polycomb group proteins, is involved in the regulation of cell cycle progression and has been implicated in various human malignancies, including breast cancer, and also has been associated with aggressive tumor behavior. However, the clinical significance of EZH2 expression in inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), a rare but aggressive type of breast carcinoma, has not been explored. In this retrospective study, the authors examined EZH2 expression in IBC tumors and evaluated the relation between EZH2 expression and patient survival.

METHODS

Tissue microarrays of 88 surgically resected IBC tumors were stained immunohistochemically for EZH2, and the authors evaluated the association of EZH2 expression status with clinicopathologic factors and clinical outcome.

RESULTS

The median follow-up for the entire cohort was 45.7 months, and the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate was 45%. EZH2 was expressed frequently in IBC tumors (75.7%) and was associated significantly with unfavorable prognostic factors, such as higher tumor grade, negative estrogen receptor status, and triple-negative status (ie, negative for the estrogen, progesterone, and human epidermal growth factor 2 receptors). Univariate survival analysis indicated that patients who had EZH2-positive IBC had a significantly lower 5-year OS rate than patients who had EZH2-negative IBC (P = .01). In multivariate analysis, only positive EZH2 status remained an independent predictor of worse OS.

CONCLUSIONS

EZH2 was expressed frequently in IBC tumors. The current results indicated that EZH2 expression status may be used to identify a subset of patients with IBC who have a relatively worse prognosis. Targeting EZH2 also may provide a novel strategy for improving the clinical outcome of patients with IBC.

Incidence of venous thromboembolism during chemotherapy for breast cancer: impact on cancer outcome

BACKGROUND

Evidence suggests that cancer patients who develop venous thromboembolism (VTE) have a poorer outcome than those who do not. The aim of this prospective study was to assess the incidence of the development of VTE in breast cancer patients commencing chemotherapy and the relationship between development of thrombosis and cancer progression and death.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

One hundred and thirty-four breast cancer patients were recruited and followed up prior to chemotherapy and at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months. Duplex ultrasound imaging (DUI) was performed 1 month following commencement of chemotherapy or if patients became symptomatic.

RESULTS

Thirteen patients developed VTE. Six patients with advanced breast cancer and seven with early breast cancer developed VTE. Three patients died from VTE; all had advanced breast cancer. In patients with VTE, the 28-day mortality rate was 15%, but in patients with symptomatic VTE, the 28-day mortality was 22%. Development of VTE did not predict for progression by three and six months in advanced breast cancer patients. VTE demonstrated a trend for predicting progression by two years. Using Cox regression survival analysis, there was no survival advantage in those with or without VTE.

CONCLUSION

Although the body of evidence supports a worse prognosis when VTE and cancer coexist as compared to either diagnosis alone, a larger prospective study is required to confirm this and clarify whether any premature death is primarily due to VTE or to more aggressive cancer.

[A case of secondary inflammatory breast cancer with multiple metastases in which operation was possible through letrozole monotherapy]

A 55-year-old woman visited our clinic for rapid swelling of her left breast. The left breast was palpated, and a mass of about 10 cm with thick skin, and multiple lymph nodes in the supraclavicle and axilla were found. PET-CT images showed an increased uptake in her left breast, lymph nodes, spine of TH5, sternum, left lobe of liver, and both lungs. The serum tumor markers were also found to be elevated. A core needle biopsy was performed, and the tumor was diagnosed as secondary inflammatory carcinoma (invasive ductal carcinoma). Immunohistochemical staining showed negative for HER2 protein, but strongly positive for ER and PgR. Letrozole monotherapy administered her starting June, 2008. After 3 months, the metastases showed a notable response, which was subsequently maintained for 19 months. The tumor markers decreased to the normal range after 6 months, and the multiple metastases were not found by PET-CT after 1 year. A radiofrequency ablation operation was conducted on the remaining 3 cm breast cancer. Neoadjuvant endocrine therapy with letrozole was shown to be useful for post-menopausal breast cancer patients with strong hormone receptor expression.

Skin thickening as unique pathologic sign of an inflammatory breast cancer: a case report and review of the literature

We report the case of a 42-year-old woman with inflammatory cancer of the right breast treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, surgery, additional chemotherapy, and consolidative radiotherapy (RT), that has metastatized to the chest wall and presented a resumption of disease on the contralateral breast. Magnetic Resonance (MR), performed after the second phase's fourth round of additional chemotherapy, showed a modest reduction of scar metastases on the right and a contralateral anomalous skin thickening with high signal intensity in T2 weighted images (WI) with multiple mass-like enhancements located in a wide area of the central region at the union of higher quadrants. These findings were suggestive for resumption of contralateral disease; the biopsy confirmed an inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) infiltrating lobular type with high mitotic rate. A retrospective evaluation of the previous MR exam, performed 5 months before, was conducted: on the left side only a modest skin thickening was found as an early sign. A careful review of the literature has confirmed that skin thickening, increased density and clinical signs of inflammation are the most common findings in inflammatory cancer. We report the case of a patient affected by IBC whose unique early sign of resumption on the contralateral breast was skin thickening.

Trastuzumab in Primary Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC): High Pathological Response Rates and Improved Outcome

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) represents a rare but aggressive and lethal form of locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) and frequently with HER-2 neu overexpressed or amplified. We retrospectively identified 16 newly diagnosed HER-2 ⁄ neu-positive IBC patients who were treated with preoperative trastuzumab. We determined the pathological complete response rate (pCR) when trastuzumab was added to preoperative chemotherapy in patients with HER2⁄ neupositive IBC. Furthermore, we assessed the expression of CXCR4 in metastatic recurrence sites. Ten patients (62.5%)achieved a pCR. Six patients (37.5%) achieved a partial response. Median follow-up of all patients was 24.2 months. Four(25%) patients have experienced a progression, of which three were in the brain. Two-year progression-free survival was 59.4% (95% CI 35–100). High expression of CXCR4 was detected in the brain metastases. We conclude that in spite of high pCR rates among women with HER-2 ⁄ neu-positive IBC treated with neoadjuvant trastuzumab-based regimens the outcome remains dismal and brain recurrences are frequent. CXCR4 may represent a novel therapeutic target.

Management of inflammatory breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy

PURPOSE

To assess the benefit of breast surgery for inflammatory breast cancer (IBC).

METHODS AND MATERIALS

This retrospective series was based on 232 patients treated for IBC. All patients received primary chemotherapy followed by either exclusive radiotherapy (118 patients; 51%) or surgery with or without radiotherapy (114 patients; 49%). The median follow-up was 11 years.

RESULTS

The two groups were comparable apart from fewer tumors <70 mm (43% vs. 33%, p = 0.003), a higher rate of clinical stage N2 (15% vs. 5%, p = 0.04), and fewer histopathologic Grade 3 tumors (46% vs. 61%, p <0.05) in the no-surgery group. The addition of surgery was associated with a significant improvement in locoregional disease control (p = 0.04) at 10 years locoregional free interval 78% vs. 59% but with no significant difference in overall survival rates or disease-free intervals. Late toxicities were not significantly different between the two treatment groups except for a higher rate of fibrosis in the no-surgery group (p <0.0001) and more lymphedema in the surgery group (p = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

Our data suggest an improvement in locoregional control in patients treated by surgery, in conjunction with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, for IBC. Efforts must be made to improve overall survival.