Whole-exome sequencing of the primary HER2-negative breast cancer and its HER2-negative synchronous liver metastasis from a 46-year-old female revealed the presence of an activating and clonal HER3 G284R mutation.
When treating hormone receptor-positive/HER2-negative MBC patients with endocrine therapy, it is important to differentiate patients with lung metastases from those with liver metastases.
Therefore, trastuzumab may be an effective agent in the chemotherapeutic treatment of liver metastases in patients with HER2-positive gastric adenocarcinoma.
There were no significant differences in the serum p105 levels among 11 patients with c-erbB-2-overexpressing carcinomas, 118 patients with c-erbB-2 non-overexpressing carcinomas and 28 controls, although a single case of gastric carcinoma overexpressing c-erbB-2 with extensive liver metastasis had a higher level than the cut-off value.
On binary regression analysis, hyperattenuation of the tumor (odds ratio [OR], 4.68; <i>p</i> < 0.001) and hepatic metastasis (OR, 4.43; <i>p</i> = 0.001) were significant independent factors that predict HER2-positive cancers.
Multiple logistic regression analysis identified intestinal type, absence of peritoneal metastasis, and hepatic metastasis as significant independent factors related to HER2 positivity.
Lung and brain metastases were common in hormone receptor-/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2+ and hormone receptor-/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2- subtypes, and patients with hormone receptor+/ human epidermal growth factor receptor 2+ and hormone receptor-/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2+ subtypes were more prone to liver metastases.
In multivariate analysis, only subtype (ER+/HER2+ vs. ER-/HER2-; HR = 0.77; P = 0.02) and liver metastases (HR = 1.36; P = 0.01) were prognostic for survival.
Furthermore, breast cancer patients with hepatic metastasis and those with elevated s-erbB-2 serum levels above 40 U/ml had limited response to hormone or chemotherapy.
For distant metastases, the results showed that there was a high probability of bone metastasis in HR-positive groups, brain and liver metastasis in HER2-positive groups, and lung metastasis in the TN group.
Compared with metastatic FBC, metastatic MBC patients had a higher proportion of ⩾60 years old, central portion of the breast, surgery, simultaneous bone and lung metastasis, while the proportion of Her2+/HR-, triple negative, liver metastasis only, and simultaneous bone and liver metastasis was lower.
C-erbB-2 was found more often in advanced cancers (P < 0.05), papillary adenocarcinoma (P < 0.01), nonscirrhous cancer (P < 0.05), and cancers with liver metastasis (P < 0.01).
A 42-year-old woman with HER2-positive salivary duct carcinoma of the parotid gland with bone and liver metastases had CR with TPH and remains in remission on maintenance trastuzumab and pertuzumab.