Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (currently known as
ERBB2, but referred to as
HER2 in this study)–positive breast cancer is morphologically and genetically heterogeneous. Not all patients will fully benefit from
HER2-targeted treatment, with less than 35% of patients initially responding to therapy with the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab.
1,2 Molecular profiling via tests such as the
PAM50 gene set can provide insight into treatment response by subcategorizing
HER2-positive (
HER2+) tumors into response-associated intrinsic molecular subtypes.
3-8 The
HER2-enriched (
HER2-E) subtype, composing 40% to 50% of
HER2+ breast cancers, is of particular therapeutic interest owing to its elevated rate of response to
HER2-targeted therapy.
3,9,10 Although molecular subtyping of
HER2+ breast cancer is gradually gaining biological significance, no clinically accepted biomarkers are as yet available for prediction of response to anti-
HER2 therapy.
11 Therefore, there remains a need to develop novel approaches to estimate clinical outcomes of
HER2-targeted therapy.