Comparison of HER-2 overexpression in primary breast cancer and metastatic sites and its effect on biological targeting therapy of metastatic disease

HER-2 overexpression, a predictive marker of tumour aggressiveness and responsiveness to therapy, occurs in 20 - 30% of breast cancer. Although breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, HER-2 measurement is carried out in primary tumour. This study aims to evaluate HER-2 overexpression in primary and metastases and its effect on treatment decisions. Biopsies from primary breast cancer and corresponding metastases from 58 patients were studied. HER-2 overexpression was evaluated immunohistochemically in all primary and metastatic sites. Positive overexpression in primary and/or metastases was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridisation ( FISH). Discordance in HER-2 overexpression between primary and metastatic sites was 14% ( eight of 58 patients). Concordance was found in 50 (86%) of patients (95% CI: 77 - 95). In one patient (2%), HER-2 was negative in metastasis but positive in primary. In seven (12%) patients, HER-2 was positive in metastases and negative in primary ( 95% CI: 3.7 - 20), and three of them responded to trastuzumab. Gene amplification by FISH was found in all cases with HER-2 positive ( +2 and +3) by immunohistochemistry. Our data suggest that a possible discordance of HER-2 overexpression between primary and metastases should be considered when making treatment decisions in patients with primary HER-2-negative tumours.