{"title":"Optimal patient population for adjuvant S-1 therapy in hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer.","authors":"Ayaka Isogai, Mitsuo Terada, Yumi Wanifuchi-Endo, Takashi Fujita, Tomoko Asano, Makiko Mori, Kazuki Nozawa, Nana Matsumoto, Yuka Niwa, Yuya Tanaka, Hiroyuki Kato, Masayuki Komura, Tatsuya Toyama","doi":"10.1007/s12282-025-01722-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12282-025-01722-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer remain at risk of recurrence even beyond 5 years post-surgery. The monarchE and the POTENT trials have demonstrated the efficacy of adding abemaciclib and S-1, respectively, to adjuvant endocrine therapy for patients with intermediate to high-risk luminal breast cancer. Given the broad eligibility criteria of the POTENT trial, this study aimed to determine the optimal selection criteria for adjuvant S-1 therapy in HR-positive/HER2-negative early breast cancer.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analyzed the prognosis of POTENT-eligible patients with HR-positive/HER2-negative early breast cancer who underwent surgery at our institute from 1981 to 2023. Kaplan-Meier curves were established, and differences were assessed using the log-rank test.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The analysis included 2099 patients. Among lymph node-negative patients eligible for the POTENT trial, those with grade 2 tumors < 3 cm demonstrated significantly better disease-free survival (DFS) than those with tumors ≥ 3 cm, while patients with grade 3 tumors < 2 cm demonstrated significantly improved DFS compared with those with tumors ≥ 2 cm. Lymph node-negative patients with \"grade 2 & ≥ 2 cm, < 3 cm\" and \"grade 3 & < 2 cm\" disease had significantly better DFS compared with the \"remaining POTENT eligible\" patients (p = 0.009).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The results of this study showed that the prognosis for lymph node-negative early breast cancer patients classified as \"grade 2 & ≥ 2 cm, < 3 cm\" and \"grade 3 & < 2 cm\" was favorable. The benefit of adding S-1 to endocrine therapy to these groups may be marginal.</p>","PeriodicalId":520574,"journal":{"name":"Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan)","volume":" ","pages":"979-987"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144145313","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Guojie Xu, Kewei Zhao, Xi Zhou, Liling Zhang, Jiaying Liu, Yanxia Zhao, Dan Han
{"title":"Clinical application of 90-gene expression test in a patient with occult breast cancer: a case report and literature review.","authors":"Guojie Xu, Kewei Zhao, Xi Zhou, Liling Zhang, Jiaying Liu, Yanxia Zhao, Dan Han","doi":"10.1007/s12282-025-01728-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12282-025-01728-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Occult breast cancer is an exceptionally rare disease characterized by ambiguous diagnostic criteria. Currently employed diagnostic methods include breast MRI, PET-CT, and immunohistochemistry; however, challenges in achieving accurate diagnoses persist in certain cases. The utilization of the 90-gene test has been implemented to identify the origin of unknown tumors, demonstrating an overall accuracy rate of 94.4% and sensitivity ranging from 74.2% to 100%, as evidenced by clinical trials. In this particular case, the patient is presented with both occult breast cancer and thyroid cancer. Initial imaging results indicated thyroid cancer without evident breast nodules or axillary lymph node involvement. Despite treatment for thyroid cancer, the patient's pain did not alleviate until tissue specimens were subjected to a comprehensive analysis using the 90-gene expression test. The gene expression profiling revealed a similarity score of 59.5%, confirming the diagnosis of occult breast cancer as a Luminal B subtype. Following treatment with letrozole and norethindrone, significant relief was observed in the patient's pain, along with a notable reduction in the size of liver metastases and mediastinal lymph node lesions. This case highlights the immense potential of the 90-gene test as a diagnostic tool for occult breast cancer.</p>","PeriodicalId":520574,"journal":{"name":"Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan)","volume":" ","pages":"1144-1151"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12394298/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144236727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chemotherapy and cognition: a promising start, but mechanistic clarity still needed.","authors":"Guohua Ren, Ling Qiang, Shu Fang","doi":"10.1007/s12282-025-01743-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12282-025-01743-1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":520574,"journal":{"name":"Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan)","volume":" ","pages":"1154-1155"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144602723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
GeYu Peng, Gaeun Lee, Sohyun Kim, Qiao-Yi Chen, Yooheon Park, NaNa Keum
{"title":"Meta-analysis of smoking and breast cancer risk: by age of smoking initiation.","authors":"GeYu Peng, Gaeun Lee, Sohyun Kim, Qiao-Yi Chen, Yooheon Park, NaNa Keum","doi":"10.1007/s12282-025-01715-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12282-025-01715-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Mounting evidence suggests that smoking increases breast cancer risk. Despite a worldwide increase in adolescent smoking, potential heterogeneity in the relationship by timing of smoking initiation has not been systematically evaluated.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>PubMed and Embase were searched through January 2024 for relevant epidemiologic studies. The summary relative risk (SRR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated by smoking initiation age (≤ 15 years, 15-20 years, ≥ 20 years) using the DerSimonian-Laird random-effects model.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 30 case-control studies and 20 cohort studies were included. The SRR was 1.08 (95% CI = 1.02-1.14, p < 0.05, I<sup>2</sup> = 54%) for smoking initiated at age ≤ 15 years, 1.10 (95% CI = 1.07-1.14, p < 0.001, I<sup>2</sup> = 32%) for smoking initiated at age 15-20 years, and 1.08 (95% CI = 1.04-1.12, p < 0.001, I<sup>2</sup> = 42%) for smoking initiated at age ≥ 20 years. When timing of smoking initiation was defined relative to first childbirth, SRR was 1.10 (95% CI = 1.05-1.15, p < 0.001, I<sup>2</sup> = 34%) for smoking initiated before first childbirth, and 1.05 (95% CI = 0.99-1.11, p = 0.13, I<sup>2</sup> = 39%) for smoking initiated after first childbirth.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Smoking, regardless of age of initiation, may increase breast cancer risk. More studies are warranted to clarify how the timing of smoking initiation relative to first childbirth modifies the relationship between smoking and breast cancer risk.</p>","PeriodicalId":520574,"journal":{"name":"Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan)","volume":" ","pages":"905-916"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144218527","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The impact of adjuvant radiotherapy on borderline and malignant phyllodes tumors of the breast.","authors":"Amonthep Charoenyothakun, Kanjana Shotelersuk, Chonnipa Nantavithya, Kitwadee Saksornchai","doi":"10.1007/s12282-025-01725-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12282-025-01725-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Borderline and malignant phyllodes tumors (PTs) are rare fibroepithelial breast neoplasms associated with a high risk of locoregional recurrence (LRR). Although adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) is increasingly used, its clinical benefit remains uncertain. This study aimed to assess the impact of RT and identify factors associated with LRR in patients with borderline and malignant PTs.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A retrospective review was conducted on 102 patients (50 borderline, 52 malignant PTs) who underwent surgery between 2012 and 2021. Clinical, pathological, and treatment data were analyzed. The primary endpoint was LRR. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression models were used to assess recurrence and risk factors.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Median follow-up was 4.3 years. Malignant PTs were more likely to be > 10 cm (63.5% vs. 22%), undergo mastectomy (75% vs. 11%), and receive adjuvant RT (78.9% vs. 8%) compared to borderline PTs (all P < 0.001). Among patients without RT, malignant PTs had a significantly higher LRR than borderline PTs (36.4% vs. 4.4%, P < 0.010). In malignant PTs, RT was associated with a lower LRR (12.2% vs. 36.4%), though not statistically significant (P = 0.081). Tumor subtype was the only independent predictor of LRR (P = 0.011). Among malignant PTs who received RT, treatment initiation beyond 12 weeks post-surgery was associated with increased LRR (P = 0.009). Radiation technique, dose, and use of bolus were not significantly associated with LRR.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Malignant PTs demonstrated higher LRR than borderline PTs. While the benefit of RT was not statistically significant, a trend toward reduced recurrence was observed.</p>","PeriodicalId":520574,"journal":{"name":"Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan)","volume":" ","pages":"1006-1012"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12394283/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144121981","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jamie Cooper, Bethy Airstone, Ellie Beaman, Emanuela Carollo, Susan Ann Brooks, Ryan Charles Pink
{"title":"Helix pomatia agglutinin bound to surface glycans of small extracellular vesicles in-vitro and in-vivo increases in early and late stage breast cancer.","authors":"Jamie Cooper, Bethy Airstone, Ellie Beaman, Emanuela Carollo, Susan Ann Brooks, Ryan Charles Pink","doi":"10.1007/s12282-025-01724-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12282-025-01724-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and a leading cause of cancer-related mortality in women globally. Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) play a crucial role in cell communication and cancer progression. This study aimed to investigate the glycosylation patterns of sEVs derived from breast epithelial cells and plasma samples from breast cancer patients, focusing on the presence of truncated O-linked glycans, such as the Tn antigen, using Helix pomatia agglutinin (HPA).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Breast cancer cell lines were investigated for HPA lectin surface binding by confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. The sEVs of these were tested for surface HPA and tetraspanin binding using imaging-flow cytometry, single particle interferometry, and direct stochastical optical reconstruction microscopy. Plasma from healthy and stage II-IV breast cancer patients were tested by imaging-flow cytometry for HPA binding and analyzed for the source of HPA + EVs using 37 colocalised markers by multiplex flow cytometry .</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Quantitative analysis revealed elevated HPA binding in sEVs from metastatic MCF-7 cells compared to that in non-metastatic BT-474 and immortalized healthy normal hTERT-HME1 cells, suggesting a correlation between HPA binding and metastatic potential. Analysis of sEVs revealed differential glycan presentation with CD81-positive sEVs from MCF-7 cells compared to CD63. In patient-derived plasma sEVs, HPA binding was significantly higher in patients with breast cancer than in healthy individuals, highlighting its potential as a biomarker for cancer detection.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These findings highlight the complex glycosylation of sEVs and their potential early diagnostic utility in breast cancer for HPA positive sEVs.</p>","PeriodicalId":520574,"journal":{"name":"Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan)","volume":" ","pages":"988-1005"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12394263/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144135955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Development of a deep learning-based automated diagnostic system (DLADS) for classifying mammographic lesions - a first large-scale multi-institutional clinical trial in Japan.","authors":"Takeshi Yamaguchi, Yoichi Koyama, Kenichi Inoue, Kanako Ban, Koichi Hirokaga, Yuka Kujiraoka, Yuko Okanami, Norimitsu Shinohara, Hiroko Tsunoda, Takayoshi Uematsu, Hirofumi Mukai","doi":"10.1007/s12282-025-01741-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12282-025-01741-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Recently, western countries have built evidence on mammographic artificial Intelligence-computer-aided diagnosis (AI-CADx) systems; however, their effectiveness has not yet been sufficiently validated in Japanese women. In this study, we aimed to establish a Japanese mammographic AI-CADx system for the first time.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We retrospectively collected screening or diagnostic mammograms from 63 institutions in Japan. We then randomly divided the images into training, validation, and test datasets in a balanced ratio of 8:1:1 on a case-level basis. The gold standard of annotation for the AI-CADx system is mammographic findings based on pathologic references. The AI-CADx system was developed using SE-ResNet modules and a sliding window algorithm. A cut-off concentration gradient of the heatmap image was set at 15%. The AI-CADx system was considered accurate if it detected the presence of a malignant lesion in a breast cancer mammogram. The primary endpoint of the AI-CADx system was defined as a sensitivity and specificity of over 80% for breast cancer diagnosis in the test dataset.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We collected 20,638 mammograms from 11,450 Japanese women with a median age of 55 years. The mammograms included 5019 breast cancer (24.3%), 5026 benign (24.4%), and 10,593 normal (51.3%) mammograms. In the test dataset of 2059 mammograms, the AI-CADx system achieved a sensitivity of 83.5% and a specificity of 84.7% for breast cancer diagnosis. The AUC in the test dataset was 0.841 (DeLong 95% CI; 0.822-0.859). The Accuracy was almost consistent independent of breast density, mammographic findings, type of cancer, and mammography vendors (AUC (range); 0.639-0.906).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The developed Japanese mammographic AI-CADx system diagnosed breast cancer with a pre-specified sensitivity and specificity. We are planning a prospective study to validate the breast cancer diagnostic performance of Japanese physicians using this AI-CADx system as a second reader.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>UMIN, trial number UMIN000039009. Registered 26 December 2019, https://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/.</p>","PeriodicalId":520574,"journal":{"name":"Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan)","volume":" ","pages":"1115-1124"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12394324/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144556476","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Emerging roles of KIR2DL4 in cancer immunotherapy.","authors":"Weimiao Li, Guoxu Zheng, Shuqun Zhang","doi":"10.1007/s12282-025-01738-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12282-025-01738-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor 2DL4 (KIR2DL4), a member of the killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) family, plays an important role in the regulation of the immune system, which is expressed primarily on natural killer (NK) cells. Human leucocyte antigen-G (HLA-G), a non-classical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecule, is the only known ligand of KIR2DL4. Accumulating evidence has shown that KIR2DL4 has emerged as a potential target for enhancing the antitumor immune response. Elevated expression of KIR2DL4 has been observed in certain tumor types, including melanoma, lung cancer, and ovarian cancer, indicating its role in tumor evasion. Our previous study had shown that blockade of KIR2DL4 interaction in NK cells can re-sensitize breast cancer to trastuzumab treatment, which indicated that KIR2DL4 was a pivotal immune checkpoint of NK cells. Currently, there are several therapeutic approaches targeting KIR in cancer immunotherapy. However, there are no efficient cancer immunotherapy strategy targeting KIR2DL4. In this review, we aim to summarize and discuss the potential role of KIR2DL4 as a target for cancer immunotherapy. A better understanding of KIR2DL4 might be helpful to develop effective KIR2DL4-targeted therapies, which could provide new treatment options for cancer patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":520574,"journal":{"name":"Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan)","volume":" ","pages":"885-891"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12394279/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144478525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Assessing the quality of Japanese online breast cancer treatment information using large language models: a comparison of ChatGPT, Claude, and expert evaluations.","authors":"Atsushi Fushimi, Mitsuo Terada, Rie Tahara, Yuko Nakazawa, Madoka Iwase, Tomoko Shibayama, Samy Kotti, Nami Yamashita, Asumi Iesato","doi":"10.1007/s12282-025-01719-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12282-025-01719-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The internet is a primary source of health information for breast cancer patients, but online content quality varies widely. This study aimed to evaluate the capability of large language models (LLMs), including ChatGPT and Claude, to assess the quality of online Japanese breast cancer treatment information by calculating and comparing their DISCERN scores with those of expert raters.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analyzed 60 Japanese web pages on breast cancer treatments (surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy) using the DISCERN instrument. Each page was evaluated by the LLMs ChatGPT and Claude, along with two expert raters. We assessed LLMs evaluation consistency, correlations between LLMs and expert assessments, and relationships between DISCERN scores, Google search rankings, and content length.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Evaluations by LLMs showed high consistency and moderate to strong correlations with expert assessments (ChatGPT vs Expert: r = 0.65; Claude vs Expert: r = 0.68). LLMs assigned slightly higher scores than expert raters. Chemotherapy pages received the highest quality scores, followed by surgery and immunotherapy. We found a weak negative correlation between Google search ranking and DISCERN scores, and a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.45) between content length and quality ratings.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study demonstrates the potential of LLM-assisted evaluation in assessing online health information quality, while highlighting the importance of human expertise. LLMs could efficiently process large volumes of health information but should complement human insight for comprehensive assessments. These findings have implications for improving the accessibility and reliability of breast cancer treatment information.</p>","PeriodicalId":520574,"journal":{"name":"Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan)","volume":" ","pages":"960-969"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144121979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}