Spatial proteomic characterization of HER2-positive breast tumors through neoadjuvant therapy predicts response

Nat Cancer. 2021 Apr;2(4):400-413. doi: 10.1038/s43018-021-00190-z. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Abstract

The addition of HER2-targeted agents to neoadjuvant chemotherapy has dramatically improved pathological complete response (pCR) rates in early-stage, HER2-positive breast cancer. Nonetheless, up to 50% of patients have residual disease after treatment, while others are likely overtreated. Here, we performed multiplex spatial proteomic characterization of 122 samples from 57 HER2-positive breast tumors from the neoadjuvant TRIO-US B07 clinical trial sampled pre-treatment, after 14-21 d of HER2-targeted therapy and at surgery. We demonstrated that proteomic changes after a single cycle of HER2-targeted therapy aids the identification of tumors that ultimately undergo pCR, outperforming pre-treatment measures or transcriptomic changes. We further developed and validated a classifier that robustly predicted pCR using a single marker, CD45, measured on treatment, and showed that CD45-positive cell counts measured via conventional immunohistochemistry perform comparably. These results demonstrate robust biomarkers that can be used to enable the stratification of sensitive tumors early during neoadjuvant HER2-targeted therapy, with implications for tailoring subsequent therapy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use
  • Breast Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Neoadjuvant Therapy*
  • Proteomics
  • Receptor, ErbB-2 / genetics
  • Trastuzumab

Substances

  • Receptor, ErbB-2
  • Trastuzumab