Breast cancer research and treatment
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Breast Cancer Res. Treat. · Jul 2016
Amount of stroma is associated with mammographic density and stromal expression of oestrogen receptor in normal breast tissues.
Following female sex and age, mammographic density is considered one of the strongest risk factors for breast cancer. Despite the association between mammographic density and breast cancer risk, little is known about the underlying histology and biological basis of breast density. To better understand the mechanisms behind mammographic density we assessed morphology, proliferation and hormone receptor status in relation to mammographic density in breast tissues from healthy women. ⋯ In contrast, expression of ER in the stroma was significantly associated with a greater proportion of stroma, and negatively associated with the amount of adipose tissue. High mammographic density is associated with higher amount of stroma and epithelium and less amount of fat, but is not associated with a change in epithelial proliferation or receptor status. Increased expressions of both epithelial PR and stromal ER are associated with a greater proportion of stroma, suggesting hormonal involvement in regulating breast tissue composition.
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Breast Cancer Res. Treat. · Jul 2016
The effect of trastuzumab-based chemotherapy in small node-negative HER2-positive breast cancer.
The prognosis of patients with stage II-III Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer has significantly improved since the addition of trastuzumab to (neo-)adjuvant chemotherapy. Several reports have shown that small (≤2 cm), node-negative, HER2-positive tumors have a relatively poor prognosis and these patients increasingly receive trastuzumab-based chemotherapy. We aimed to provide evidence for this approach in a population-based cohort. ⋯ BCSS was also improved with systemic treatment in univariable (96 vs. 92 %; HR 0.41; 95 % CI 0.27-0.63, P < 0.001) and multivariable analyses (HR 0.31; 95 % CI 0.19-0.53, P < 0.001). Treatment effect on OS and BCSS was similar in T1a, T1b, and T1c tumors. Chemotherapy and/or trastuzumab improves OS and BCSS and can be considered in all patients with small node-negative HER2-positive breast cancer.