Journal of the National Cancer Institute
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J. Natl. Cancer Inst. · Aug 2014
Molecular features and survival outcomes of the intrinsic subtypes within HER2-positive breast cancer.
The clinical impact of the biological heterogeneity within HER2-positive (HER2+) breast cancer is not fully understood. Here, we evaluated the molecular features and survival outcomes of the intrinsic subtypes within HER2+ breast cancer. ⋯ When the intrinsic subtypes are taken into account, cHER2-positivity does not translate into large changes in the expression of downstream signaling pathways, nor does it affect patient survival in the absence of HER2 targeting.
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J. Natl. Cancer Inst. · Aug 2014
Survival outcomes after contralateral prophylactic mastectomy: a decision analysis.
Contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) rates have substantially increased in recent years and may reflect an exaggerated perceived benefit from the procedure. The objective of this study was to evaluate the magnitude of the survival benefit of CPM for women with unilateral breast cancer. ⋯ The absolute 20-year survival benefit from CPM was less than 1% among all age, ER status, and cancer stage groups. Estimates of LE gains and survival differences derived from decision models may provide more realistic expectations of CPM.