Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jun 16, 2022; 10(17): 5923-5928
Published online Jun 16, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i17.5923
Loss of human epidermal receptor-2 in human epidermal receptor-2+ breast cancer after neoadjuvant treatment: A case report
Jing Yu, Nan-Lin Li
Jing Yu, Nan-Lin Li, Department of Thyroid, Breast and Vascular Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi’an 710032, Shaanxi Province, China
Author contributions: Yu J analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; Li NL and Yu J performed the research; all authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Nan-Lin Li, MD, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Thyroid, Breast and Vascular Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, No. 127 West Changle Road, Xi’an 710032, Shaanxi Province, China. yuyujing0729@163.com
Received: January 25, 2022
Peer-review started: January 25, 2022
First decision: March 16, 2022
Revised: March 18, 2022
Accepted: April 4, 2022
Article in press: April 4, 2022
Published online: June 16, 2022
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Human epidermal receptor-2 (HER-2) expression has been reported to be discordant between primary tumor and metastatic tissue.

CASE SUMMARY

We presented a case diagnosed with the HER-2+ breast cancer patient who exhibited changes in the expression of HER-2 receptors on tumour samples from surgical specimens obtained after neoadjuvant treatment (NAT) compared with initial biopsy. The patient underwent a HER-2-targeted therapy consequently, in spite of HER+ gene loss. After the surgery, the patient subsequently underwent endocrine therapy and radiotherapy.

CONCLUSION

Changes in HER-2 expression after NAT should be retested by physicians and pathologists before systemic treatment instead of avoiding further HER-2-targeted therapy, and we will perform immunohistochemical multiple-spot biopsy analyses of other important clinical issues to better define prognosis and tailor subsequent adjuvant therapy.

Keywords: Human epidermal receptor-2+ breast cancer, Human epidermal receptor-2 loss, Neoadjuvant treatment, Case report

Core Tip: We presented a case diagnosed with the human epidermal receptor(HER)-2+ breast cancer patient who exhibited changes in the expression of HER-2 receptors on tumour samples from surgical specimens obtained after neoadjuvant treatment (NAT) compared with initial biopsy. Changes in HER-2 expression after NAT should be retested by physicians and pathologists before systemic treatment instead of avoiding further HER-2-targeted therapy. In general, the exact mechanisms of HER-2 discordance remain unknown and further investigations are needed.