more stats on brain mets by type of breast cancer

[Lani]

Mod Pathol. 2007 Jun 1; [Epub ahead of print]
Predominance of the basal type and HER-2/neu type in brain metastasis from breast cancer.

Gaedcke J, Traub F, Milde S, Wilkens L, Stan A, Ostertag H, Christgen M, von Wasielewski R, Kreipe HH.
1Institute of Pathology, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
Although breast cancer is the second most common cause of central nervous system (CNS) metastases with a notable increase of incidence, only few studies on brain-metastasizing breast cancer are available. In this immunohistochemical and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) study, metastases to the CNS (n=85) and primary breast cancers, with known involvement of the CNS (n=44) including paired primary and metastasized tumours (n=23), were investigated retrospectively for the expression of oestrogen- (ER) and progesterone- (PR) hormone receptors, Her-2/neu, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), Ki-67, and cytokeratins (CKs) 5/14. The majority of brain metastases were steroid hormone receptor negative (ER 66%, PR 82%) corresponding to the findings in primary tumours with known involvement of the CNS (68% ER-negative, 75% PR-negative). The frequency of HER-2/neu-overexpressing or -amplified cancers was increased in both groups (34 and 32%, respectively). EGFR expression was more frequent in metastases (41%) than in primary tumours (16%). The proportions of cases with a basal phenotype were 26 and 30%, respectively. In paired primary tumours and metastases to the CNS, constancy of Her-2/neu status was observed in 87% of cases with only one sample turning Her-2/neu-negative and two samples acquiring overexpression/amplification in brain metastases. In contrast, steroid hormone receptors exhibited more frequently a loss of expression (17%) than a gain (9%) with 74% revealing a constant phenotype. We conclude that brain-metastasizing breast cancer belongs predominantly to the basal type or Her-2/neu type. Primary and metastatic tumours differ from each other only in a minority of cases, leading rather to a loss of steroid hormone receptors and to a gain of EGFR and Her-2/neu.Modern Pathology advance online publication, 1 June 2007; doi:10.1038/modpathol.3800830.
PMID: 17541441 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]


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[vickie h]

I second your opinion, Karen. I did not understand that either. Vickie

[Adriana Mangus]

If am reading this correctly this study indicates that is for triple negative, I think it says for Her2- with receptos Er,Pr-

Did I get it right? Donow...:-)

Today, I am more confused than yesterday and much more than I will ever be after tomorrow.

[Margerie]

It would be interesting to find out where someone like myself, strongly triple + would fit in these stats.