Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40968607›Full record

ArticleCancer research and treatment2026

Alteration of HER2 Status Following Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer: A Clinicopathological Analysis Focusing on HER2-Low Status.

Hyun-Jung Sung, Hyun Jung Kwon, Kyungah Bai, Yul Ri Chung, Hee-Chul Shin, Eun-Kyu Kim, Koung Jin Suh, Se Hyun Kim, Jee Hyun Kim, So Yeon Park

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Article in Cancer research and treatment, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

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2citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Hyun-Jung SungDepartment of Pathology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea.
Hyun Jung KwonDepartment of Pathology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea.
Kyungah BaiDepartment of Pathology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea.
Yul Ri ChungPathology Center, Seegene Medical Foundation, Seoul, Korea.
Hee-Chul ShinDepartment of Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea.
Eun-Kyu KimDepartment of Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea.
Koung Jin SuhDivision of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea.
Se Hyun KimDivision of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea.
Jee Hyun KimDivision of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea.
So Yeon ParkDepartment of Pathology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea. sypmd@snu.ac.kr.

Funding

Ministry of Science, ICT and Future PlanningNational Research Foundation of Korea 2022R1F1A1065468
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate alteration of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in breast cancer and its impact on clinical outcomes of patients, focusing on HER2-low status. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed clinicopathological data of 1,063 breast cancer patients who underwent NAC between 2013 and 2020. Using paired samples of 670 patients with residual disease after NAC, we analyzed HER2 discordance rates between pre- and post-NAC samples, relationships between HER2 discordance and clinicopathological characteristics of tumors, and clinical outcomes of the patients. Results: Pre-NAC HER2-low status was associated with a lower pathologic complete response rate and higher residual cancer burden class compared with HER2-zero and HER2-positive status. However, in subgroup analysis by hormone receptor (HR) status, no statistical differences were found in chemo-responsiveness between them. Following NAC, the overall HER2 discordance rate was 21.2% (κ=0.676), and the most common type of alteration was zero-to-low (11.5%) conversion, followed by low-to-positive (3.6%) conversion. HER2 discordance was significantly associated with lower HER2 levels and HR positivity before NAC, as well as lymphovascular invasion, higher ypT category, and axillary node metastasis in residual disease after NAC. In survival analyses, HER2 discordance was found to be an independent prognostic factor for poor disease-free survival of the patients, particularly within the HR-positive subgroup. Conclusion: Given the prognostic implications of HER2 discordance which primarily involves zero-to-low conversion and the therapeutic benefits of newly developed antibody-drug conjugates in HER2-low breast cancers, HER2 status should be re-evaluated in surgical resection specimens following NAC.

Indexed as

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy ProtocolsBreast NeoplasmsErb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine KinasesNeoadjuvant TherapyAdultAgedBiomarkers, TumorFemaleHumansMiddle AgedPathologic Complete ResponsePrognosisRetrospective StudiesBiomarkers, TumorERBB2 protein, humanErb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine KinasesHER2 discordanceHER2-lowNeoadjuvant therapyPrognosis

Identifiers

PMID40968607
PMCPMC13680079

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