NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Overexpression of HER-2/neu is not associated with resistance to first-line taxane-based epirubicin-paclitaxel chemotherapy, according to a retrospective study reported in the August 4th Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
In fact, the results of this study also suggest that a regimen like epirubicin-paclitaxel may provide a “preferential benefit to patients with HER-2/neu-positive tumors,” the authors note, because such patients “might be particularly sensitive to the paclitaxel-containing regimen.”
HER-2/neu gene amplification has been tied to an improved response to anthracycline-based chemotherapy, but its association with response to taxane-based chemotherapy is less clear, Dr. Dennis J. Slamon from the University of California, Los Angeles and colleagues explain in their report.
To investigate, they examined the outcomes of 297 women with metastatic breast cancer and known HER-2/neu status who were treated with either epirubicin-paclitaxel (ET) or epirubicin-cyclophosphamide (EC) chemotherapy as part of a randomized trial.
Women with HER-2/neu-positive tumors had a significantly better objective response rate than patients with HER-2/neu-negative tumors to ET chemotherapy (76% vs 50%, respectively) but not to treatment with EC chemotherapy (46% vs 33%, respectively).
Among women with HER-2/neu-positive tumors, those in the ET arm had better progression-free survival and overall survival than those in the EC arm. Among women with HER-2/neu-negative tumors, progression-free survival and overall survival were not markedly different in the ET and EC arms.
Summing up, the authors note that while women with HER-2/neu-positive breast cancer have a poor prognosis, “our results underscore the fact that HER-2/neu amplification is not an intrinsic marker of chemoresistance to either the EC regimen or the ET regimen.”
Source: J Natl Cancer Inst 2004;96:1141-1151. [ Google search on this article ]
MeSH Headings:Breast Neoplasms: Neoplasms: Neoplasms by Site: Genes, erbB-2: Genes, erbB: DiseasesCopyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
