Dynamic changes in CD44v-positive cells after preoperative anti-HER2 therapy and its correlation with pathologic complete response in HER2-positive breast cancer.

Dynamic changes in CD44v-positive cells after preoperative anti-HER2 therapy and its correlation with pathologic complete response in HER2-positive breast cancer. Oncotarget. 2018 Jan 23;9(6):6872-6882 Authors: Yamauchi T, Espinosa Fernandez JR, Imamura CK, Yamauchi H, Jinno H, Takahashi M, Kitagawa Y, Nakamura S, Lim B, Krishnamurthy S, Reuben JM, Liu D, Tripathy D, Chen H, Takebe N, Saya H, Ueno NT Abstract Chemotherapy has been reported to increase the proportion of cancer stem cells (CSCs) and to promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype changes. Anti-HER2 therapy may provide a strategy for eliminating CSC and EMT, which contribute to therapeutic resistance. No study has determined the changes in the quantity or characteristics of CSCs or circulating tumor cells (CTCs) with EMT phenotype during preoperative anti-HER2 therapy, and whether these changes correlate to response to dual anti-HER2 therapy. In a prospective clinical trial to evaluate pharmacodynamic biomarkers, 18 patients with operable primary HER2-positive breast cancer received dual anti-Her2 preoperative therapy with trastuzumab and lapatinib with paclitaxel. Proportions of tumor cells with CSC characteristics and EMT markers in CTC's were estimated at baseline, after 6 and 18 weeks of preoperative therapy to determine the quantitative cutoff value to predict pathologic complete response (pCR). Out of 18 patients, 8 (44%) had a pCR; 5 of these 8 patie...
Source: Oncotarget - Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Oncotarget Source Type: research