Liver metastases are very common in metastatic breast cancer (MBC); current treatments for these lesions are based on systemic chemotherapy, endocrine- or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-targeted therapy, and palliative therapy.
HER2 was positive in nearly 52 % of the primary tumors, and these expressed HER2 in corresponding lymph node and liver metastases in 93 and 100 % of the cases, respectively.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Multiple logistic regression analysis identified intestinal type, absence of peritoneal metastasis, and hepatic metastasis as significant independent factors related to HER2 positivity.
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.