Abstract:
Objective To investigate the correlation between the HER-2/CEP17 ratio and pathologic complete response (pCR) in invasive breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).
Methods From January 2013 to December 2017, data of 635 patients with clinical stage ⅡB-Ⅲ breast cancer who underwent NAC in Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital were reviewed. These patientswere assigned into the pCR group (117 patients) and non-pCR group (518 patients) based on the pathologic specimens. The predictive value of the HER-2/CEP17 ratio for pCR was analyzed in all NAC-receiving patients: NAC with and without trastuzumab groups. Moreover, the correlation between the HER-2/CEP17 ratio and pCR rate was explored.
Results The pCR rate was 18.4% (117/635) in the whole population. According to the multivariate Logistic analysis, clinical tumor staging odds ratio (OR)=0.500, 95%CI: 0.350-0.712, P < 0.001, Ki-67 expression (OR=3.461, 95%CI: 1.891-6.333, P < 0.001), molecular subtypes (OR=1.458, 95%CI: 1.188-1.791, P < 0.001), HER- 2 copy number (OR=6.173, 95%CI: 2.110-17.857, P=0.001), and the HER-2/CEP17 ratio (OR=9.076, 95%CI: 3.142-26.215, P < 0.001) were independent predictors for pCR. Moreover, the HER-2/CEP17 ratio was an independent predictor for pCR in both the NAC with and without trastuzumab groups. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient analysis suggested that the pCR rate was associated with the HER-2/CEP17 ratio (r=0.235, P < 0.001).
Conclusions The HER-2/CEP17 ratio was associated with the pCR in breast cancer patients undergoing NAC and was an independent predictor for pCR.