ABSTRACT
Purpose@#PIK3CA, encoding for subunit p110a of phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase, is frequently mutated in breast cancer. PIK3CAmutation was predictive for pathological complete response (pCR) in human epidermal growth factor 2 positive breast cancer. This study explores the association of PIK3CA mutation and pCR in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. @*Materials and Methods@#A total of 92 patients with TNBC derived from a prospectively randomized phase II trial GeparSixto study (NCT01426880). Exon 9 and exon 20 of PIK3CA mutations were evaluated by using classical Sanger method with formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissues. @*Results@#Seven of 90 tumors (7.8%) were detectable with a PIK3CA H1047R mutation. Overall, PIK3CA H1047R mutation was significantly associated with a lower pCR rate (14.3% vs. 56.6%; odds ratio, 0.128; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.015 to 1.108; p=0.047). In carboplatin- containing treatment patients, H1047R mutation trended to predict a lower pCR rate (20% vs. 62.5%; p=0.146). In a multivariable analysis, H1047R mutation trended to predict a lower pCR rate (hazard ratio, 0.1; 95% CI, 0.01 to 1; p=0.056). @*Conclusion@#TNBC with a PIK3CA H1047R mutation was less likely to achieve pCR after anthracyclinebased neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Development of H1047R mutant selective inhibitors might be helpful to conquer this subtype of breast cancer.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) has experienced a renaissance lately as a binding site for targeted therapy as well as a prognostic marker in epithelial malignancies. Aim of this study was to study EpCAM as a potential prognostic marker in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). METHODS: EpCAM expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry on paraffin-embedded primary EOC-tissue samples. EpCAM overexpression was defined as an expression of EpCAM of 76% to 100%. Tissue samples and clinical data were systematically collected within the international and multicenter "Tumorbank Ovarian Cancer" network. RESULTS: Seventy-four patients, diagnosed with EOC between 1994 and 2009, were included in the study (median age, 56 years; range, 31 to 86 years). The majority of the patients (81.1%) presented with an advanced stage International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) III/IV disease. Histology was of the serous type in 41 patients (55.4%), endometrioid in 19 (25.6%), and mucinous in 14 (19%). EpCAM was overexpressed in 87.7%. Serous tumors overexpressed EpCAM significantly more often than mucinous tumors (87.8% vs. 78.6%, p=0.045); while no significant difference was noted between the other histological subgroups. EpCAM overexpression was significantly associated with a better progression free survival and higher response rates to platinum based chemotherapy (p=0.040 and p=0.048, respectively). EpCAM was identified as an independent prognostic marker for overall survival (p=0.022). CONCLUSION: Our data indicate a significant association of EpCAM overexpression with a more favorable survival in EOC-patients. Serous cancers showed a significant EpCAM overexpression compared to mucinous types. Larger multicenter analyses are warranted to confirm these findings.