ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Cancer Cell Signaling
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1673234
Correlation Between Different Levels of Her-2 Protein Expression and The Efficacy of Neoadjuvant Therapy in Her-2 Positive Breast Cancer
Provisionally accepted
- 1Beihua University, Jilin, China
- 2Beihua University School of Medicine, Jilin, China
- 3Jinhua People's Hospital, Jinhua, China
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The purpose of this study was to explore the correlation between the difference of Her-2 protein expression level in Her-2 positive breast cancer and the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, so as to determine the best population for neoadjuvant treatment of Her-2 positive breast cancer.Methods: This study enrolled 161 Her-2 positive breast cancer patients who received trastuzumab plus pertuzumab therapy between January 2020 and January 2024. Statistical analyses were employed to evaluate associations between Her-2 protein expression levels and clinicopathological characteristics, as well as relationships between pathological complete response (pCR) and these features. Logistic regression was used to assess correlations between Her-2 expression levels and clinicopathological factors, and to analyze pCR predictors. Result: Among the 161 patients receiving neoadjuvant trastuzumab-pertuzumab therapy, 81 achieved pCR (50.31%), while 80 did not (49.69%). In the Her-2 (3+) subgroup (n=134), 58.21% (78/134) attained pCR versus 41.79% (56/134) with non-pCR. For Her-2 (2+)/FISH(+) patients (n=27), only 11.11% (3/27) achieved pCR, contrasting with 88.89% (24/27) showing non-pCR. Univariate analysis identified hormone receptor status, tumor size, and Her-2 expression level as pCR influencers. However, multivariate logistic regression confirmed Her-2 expression as the sole independent predictor: Her-2 (3+) patients had significantly higher pCR rates than Her-2 (2+)/FISH(+) cases (p=0.005; OR: 0.170 [95% CI: 0.045–0.639]). Conclusion:Her-2 (3+) expression correlates with superior pCR rates, underscoring the need for further research to refine patient selection for optimized targeted therapy benefits.
Keywords: HER-2 protein, breast cancer, trastuzumab, Pertuzumab, PCR
Received: 25 Jul 2025; Accepted: 23 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Li, Cui, Li and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Hong-bo Li, 1013644841@qq.com
Zhi-yong Wang, 2166715675@qq.com
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