[A Case of HER2-Positive Inflammatory Breast Cancer for Which Preoperative Chemotherapy with Pertuzumab Resulted in a Pathological Complete Response].

A 52-year-old woman presented with redness and swelling with a peau d'orange appearance in the whole right breast. Ultrasound revealed elevated subcutaneus fat density and a diffuse hypoechoic area. She was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer(T4dN2M0, Stage III B of the HER2 subtype). After 4 courses of EC treatment as primary systemic therapy, the hypoechoic area was still present. Subsequent chemotherapy with pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and docetaxel was effective, as hypoechoic area was not observed on ultrasound. She underwent mastectomy and axillary dissection, and pathological examination revealed pCR. At present, 2 years after surgery, the patient is alive with no reccurence.

Expression of tissue factor and vascular endothelial growth factor is associated with angiogenesis in colorectal cancer.

We examined the expression of tissue factor (TF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the microvessel density (MVD) in 100 patients with colorectal cancer, and we investigated the relationship of the expression of TF or VEGF with angiogenesis. TF antigen was positive in 57.0% of all specimens. Incidence of TF expression was 41.2%, 45.5%, 52.6%, 84.6%, and 81.3% in tumors from patients in clinical stages I, II, IIIA, IIIB, and IV, respectively. TF expression was correlated with the Dukes' classification (P = 0.01) and the clinical stage of colorectal cancer (P = 0.02). VEGF antigen was positive in 64.0% of all specimens. Incidence of VEGF expression was 41.2%, 57.6%, 73.7%, 84.6%, and 75.0% in tumors from patients in clinical stages I, II, IIIA, IIIB, and IV, respectively. VEGF expression was correlated with the Dukes' classification (P = 0.01) but showed a weak association with the clinical stage (P = 0.08). MVD was significantly associated with the depth of invasion (P = 0.01), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.001), and liver metastasis (P = 0.02). The mean values of MVD were 7.5 +/- 2.8, 10.1 +/- 5.7, 14.6 +/- 5.8, 13.5 +/- 3.9, and 15.9 +/- 4.2 in tumors from patients in clinical stages I, II, IIIA, IIIB, and IV, respectively. A close relationship between VEGF and MVD (P < 0.001) and a significant correlation between TF expression and MVD were observed (P = 0.02). TF-positive carcinomas presented high MVD and VEGF expression (P < 0.001) more frequently than did TF-negative tumors. These results suggest that involvement of TF in the process of metastasis and progression of colorectal cancer may depend on increased angiogenesis.