Question answered for the first time! Do her2+ breast cancers recur more often after

[Lani]

breast conserving surgery ie, lumpectomy + radiation therapy vs mastectomy

Hopefully, this is the beginning of other papers looking at whether other standard treatment recommendations also hold for her2+ breast cancer.

The Breast Journal
Volume 12 Page 431 - September 2006
doi:10.1111/j.1075-122X.2006.00297.x
Volume 12 Issue 5


ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The Impact of HER-2 Status on Local Recurrence in Women with Stage I–II Breast Cancer Treated with Breast-Conserving Therapy
Eleanor E. R. Harris, MD*, Wei-Ting Hwang, PhDâ€*, Eric A. Lee*, Keith A. Cengel, MD, PhD*, Michael D. Feldman, MD, PhD‡, Angela DeMichele, MD§, Gary Kao, MD, PhD*, and Lawrence J. Solin, MD*
Abstract: This study was undertaken to determine whether overexpression of the oncogene HER-2 is associated with an increase in local recurrence in women with early stage breast cancer treated with breast-conserving therapy (BCT). A retrospective review of the medical records of all women treated with stage I–II invasive breast cancer from 1991 through 2001 was performed. Of 596 eligible patients treated in that time period, immunohistochemical testing for HER-2 expression was performed in 352 patients (59%): 266 patients (76%) were HER-2 negative and 86 patients (24%) were HER-2 positive. Median follow-up was 5.4 years. The patient characteristics for the two groups were compared for age, pathologic T and N stage, number of positive nodes, estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) status, radiation treatment, and use of hormonal therapy or chemotherapy. There were no significant differences in any of these parameters between the two groups (all p ? 0.10). Local recurrence at 5 years was 2% in the HER-2-negative group and 0% in the HER-2-positive group (p = 0.15). There was no difference in local recurrence after BCT between HER-2-positive and negative breast cancers at 5 years. Therefore HER-2 overexpression does not appear to be a contraindication to BCT.