Åke Borg
Principal investigator
ERBB2 amplification is associated with tamoxifen resistance in steroid-receptor positive breast cancer
Author
Summary, in English
Amplification and overexpression of the ERBB2 (HER-2/neu) oncogene has been implicated as contributing to the development of human breast cancer, and as a predictor of poor survival. In the present non-randomized study of 871 primary invasive breast tumours, ERBB2 activation was significantly correlated to a shorter disease-free and overall survival in the subgroup of patients receiving adjuvant tamoxifen therapy, but not in the untreated group. Further subcategorization demonstrated the relationship to poor prognosis to be confined to lymph node positive and steroid receptor-positive tumours. We suggest that steroid receptor and ERBB2-positive breast tumours are resistant to tamoxifen therapy and, supported by experimental evidence showing an oestrogen receptor dependent up-regulation of ERBB2 expression upon tamoxifen administration, possibly even growth stimulated by the drug.
Department/s
- Breastcancer-genetics
Publishing year
1994
Language
English
Pages
137-144
Publication/Series
Cancer Letters
Volume
81
Issue
2
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Elsevier
Topic
- Cancer and Oncology
Keywords
- ERBB2
- HER-2/neu
- Gene amplification
- Breast cancer
- Adjuvant tamoxifen
- Therapy resistance
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1872-7980