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. 2023 Aug 3;28(8):e617-e624.
doi: 10.1093/oncolo/oyad070.

HER2 Expression Associated with Clinical Characteristics and Prognosis of Urothelial Carcinoma in a Chinese Population

Li Zhou  1 , Zhiting Shao  2 , Yiqiang Liu  3 , Xieqiao Yan  1 , Juan Li  1 , Xiaowen Wu  1 , Bixia Tang  1 , Siming Li  1 , Chuanliang Cui  1   4 , Zhihong Chi  4 , Lu Si  4 , Yan Kong  4 , Lili Mao  4 , Bin Lian  4 , Xuan Wang  4 , Xue Bai  4 , Jie Dai  4 , Jun Guo  1 , Xinan Sheng  1
Affiliations

HER2 Expression Associated with Clinical Characteristics and Prognosis of Urothelial Carcinoma in a Chinese Population

Li Zhou et al. Oncologist. .

Abstract

Background: The frequency of HER2 overexpression in bladder cancer is reported as 9%-61%. HER2 alteration correlates with aggressive disease in bladder cancer. Traditional anti-HER2 targeted therapy has failed to show clinical benefits in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma .

Methods: The information on pathologically proven patients with urothelial carcinoma with detected HER2 status was collected from the database of Peking University Cancer Hospital. The HER2 expression, as well as its association with clinical characteristics and prognosis, was analyzed.

Results: A total of 284 consecutive patients with urothelial carcinoma were enrolled. HER2 was positive (IHC 2+/3+) in 44% of urothelial carcinoma. HER2 positivity was found more frequent in UCB than in UTUC (51% vs. 38%). Stage, radical surgery, and histological variant were associated with survival (P < .05). For metastatic patients, multivariate analysis shows that 3 indicators, including liver metastasis, the number of involved organs, and anemia, are independent risk factors of prognosis. Receiving immunotherapy or disitamab vedotin (DV) treatment is an independent protecting factor. The survival of patients with low HER2 expression was also significantly improved by the treatment of DV (P < .001). HER2 expression (IHC 1+, 2+, 3+) was associated with a better prognosis in this population.

Conclusion: DV has improved the survival of patients with urothelial carcinoma in the real world. With the new-generation anti-HER2 ADC treatment, HER2 expression is no longer a poor prognostic factor.

Keywords: HER2; antibody-drug conjugate; prognosis; targeted therapy; urothelial carcinoma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors indicated no financial relationships.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The proportion of HER2 expression in primary and metastatic sites.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Kaplan-Meier analyses of OS for metastatic patients according to different strata by prognostic factors: (A) liver metastasis, (B) number of metastatic organs, (C) anemia, (D) treated by immunotherapy, (E) treated by disitamab vedotin, (F) HER2 expression.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Multivariate analyses of prognostic factors for OS in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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