Andrieu, Charlotte, Stoof, Jojanneke
ORCID: 0000-0002-8331-1597, AlSultan, Dalal and Ivers, Laura et al.
(2025)
Chromosome centromere copy number amplification associated with exceptional response in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients.
Oncogene, 45
.
pp. 549-557.
ISSN 1476-5594
Abstract
Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is generally an incurable neoplasm. A small cohort of patients with HER2-positive MBC, however,
achieve such prolonged remission without relapse following anti-HER2 therapy and chemotherapy, that it is speculated they might
be cured. The genomes of these patients might provide insights into the underlying mechanisms for their successful treatment.
Here, a total of 243 HER2-positive patients diagnosed with MBC between 2000 and 2015 were studied. Of these, 29 patients were
identified as exceptional responders (ExR) with an overall survival (OS) > 60 months and no evidence of relapse, 54 patients with an
OS > 60 months but who relapsed or developed progressive disease were defined as exceptional survivors (ExS), and 160 patients
with an OS < 60 months were identified as short-term responders (STR). Whole-Genome Sequencing and centromere copy number
(CCN) analysis was performed on 27 patients (12 ExR; 4 ExS; 11 STR). A significant amplification was observed in the centromeric
regions of ExR, exhibiting higher CCN compared to the ExS and STR. Digital PCR validation of chromosome 4 centromere region
D4Z1 copy number was not associated with ExR OS. Our results suggest that the amplification of centromere regions are associated
with very prolonged remission and survival in patients with HER2-positive MBC.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article (Published) |
|---|---|
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Subjects: | Biological Sciences > Biotechnology Humanities > Biological Sciences > Biotechnology Biological Sciences > Bioinformatics Humanities > Biological Sciences > Bioinformatics |
| DCU Faculties and Centres: | DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science and Health DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science and Health > School of Biotechnology |
| Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group |
| Official URL: | https://www.nature.com/articles/s41388-025-03667-8 |
| Copyright Information: | Authors |
| ID Code: | 32276 |
| Deposited On: | 10 Feb 2026 12:15 by Gordon Kennedy . Last Modified 10 Feb 2026 12:15 |
Documents
Full text available as:
Preview |
PDF
- Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader
Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 1MB |
Metrics
Altmetric Badge
Dimensions Badge
Downloads
Downloads
Downloads per month over past year
Archive Staff Only: edit this record