Metastatic breast cancer through the Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score®: insights from a small cohort study.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of obtaining a 21-gene Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score® (RS) result from metastatic biopsies in newly diagnosed hormone receptor positive, HER2- metastatic breast cancer patients and correlate RS results with matched primary samples.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of metastatic biopsies from HR+, HER2- breast cancer patients. Slides were sent to Genomic Health, Inc. for RNA isolation and RS determination. Success rates were evaluated across metastatic sites, and RS results were compared between matched primary and metastatic samples.

Results: RS result was obtained in 46% of metastatic biopsies (bone: 18; liver: 5; lung: 1; ovary: 1; skin: 1). Failures were primarily due to insufficient (18) or poor-quality RNA (8). Mean RS for metastatic sites was 33 (range 1-66). None gained HER2 expression by RT-PCR. In 19 paired samples, mean RS was 20 (range 7-35) for primary and 35 (range 1-66) for metastatic sites, showing no predictive correlation. Estrogen receptor (ER) was conserved in 90%, while progesterone receptor (PR) was lost in 37%. In six de novo cases, metastatic RS result was consistently higher than primary RS (mean 36 vs. 24). ER positivity and HER2-negativity showed 100% concordance; PR expression had 67% concordance.

Conclusion: RS generation from metastatic biopsy samples was feasible in 46% of cases. Results revealed higher RS in metastatic disease, frequent PR loss, and poor correlation with primary tumors. Adequate tissue sampling is essential for improving RNA quality and test success. Further research into RS result relevance in metastatic treatment decisions is warranted.