EGFR and HER2 Signaling in Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis

Overview

Journal Front Biosci (Elite Ed)

Specialty Biology

Date 2015 Dec 29

PMID 26709660

Citations 40

Authors

Sherona R Sirkisoon

Richard L Carpenter

Tadas Rimkus

Lance Miller

Linda Metheny-Barlow

Hui-Wen Lo

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Breast cancer occurs in approximately 1 in 8 women and 1 in 37 women with breast cancer succumbed to the disease. Over the past decades, new diagnostic tools and treatments have substantially improved the prognosis of women with local diseases. However, women with metastatic disease still have a dismal prognosis without effective treatments. Among different molecular subtypes of breast cancer, the HER2-enriched and basal-like subtypes typically have higher rates of metastasis to the brain. Basal-like metastatic breast tumors frequently express EGFR. Consequently, HER2- and EGFR-targeted therapies are being used in the clinic and/or evaluated in clinical trials for treating breast cancer patients with brain metastases. In this review, we will first provide an overview of the HER2 and EGFR signaling pathways. The roles that EGFR and HER2 play in breast cancer metastasis to the brain will then be discussed. Finally, we will summarize the preclinical and clinical effects of EGFR- and HER2-targeted therapies on breast cancer metastasis.

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