Abstract PO3-15-12: Expression and co-expression patterns of TROP2 and HER2 in breast cancer: implications for bispecific antibody-drug conjugate therapy
Authors: Onishi Mai , Shimoi Tatsunori , Kojima Yuki , Yazaki Shu , Yamanaka Taro , Kitadai Rui , Kawachi Asuka , Okuma Hitomi , Hoshino Mai , Saito Ayumi , Ito Munehiro , Maejima Aiko , Nishikawa Tadaaki , Sudo Kazuki , Noguchi Emi , Fujiwara Yasuhiro , Yoshida Masayuki , Yonemori Kan 
Published: May 2024

Introduction: Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) targeting trophoblast cell surface antigen 2 (TROP2), such as sacituzumab-govitecan and datopotamab-deruxtecan, have recently been developed. A preclinical study has reported the efficacy of anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and TROP2 bispecific ADCs in treating HER2 and TROP2 co-expressing tumors, including HER2-low tumors in various solid tumors (Chengzhang Shang et al: AACR 2023). In this study, we aimed to evaluate the expression of TROP2 by immunohistochemistry (IHC) at different sites and investigate the changing status and co-expression of HER2 and TROP2 among breast cancer patients.

Methods: We collected 244 archival paired samples of primary tumors and metastatic sites from 111 breast cancer patients treated in our hospital from 2000 to 2018. Estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR), and HER2 status were determined from previous pathology reports. HER2 low was defined as HER2 IHC score of 1+ or 2+ with negative fluorescent in situ hybridization (ISH). In addition, we determined the expression of TROP2 using IHC assays and categorized the results based on the histochemical score (H-score).

Results: Among the samples, ER+HER2- was 139, ER+HER2+ was nine, ER-HER2+ was eight, and triple-negative (TN) was 88. HER2 3+ or 2+ with ISH positive was 17, HER2 low was 112, HER2 negative was 115. The median TROP2 H-score was 10, with a mean of 37.5 (range: 0-265). Overall, 27% of the samples had H-score of 0, 73% had H-score of 1&lt;, 47% had H-score of 10&lt;, and 12% had H-score of 100&lt; . No statistically significant association was observed between TROP2 expression and breast cancer subtypes (ER+HER2-; H-score of 0 24%, H-score of 1&lt; 76%, H-score of 10&lt; 44%, H-score of 100&lt; 14%, TN; H-score of 0 30%, H-score of 1&lt; 70%, H-score of 10&lt; 54%, H-score of 100&lt; 11%). On the other hand, samples from the metastatic site showed a higher rate of TROP-2 expression H-score of 1&lt; compared to the primary site (primary site; H-score of 0 36%, H-score of 1&lt; 64%, metastatic site; H-score of 0 18%, H-score of 1&lt; 82%; p&lt; 0.01). The rates of TROP2-positive expression defined as H-score of 1&lt;, varied among the metastatic sites, with 100% in liver, 92% in brain, 89% in lymph nodes, 64% in lung, and 60% in bone. Regarding the co-expression of HER2 and TROP2, among HER2-positive samples, 35% had TROP2 H-score of 0, 24% had TROP2 H-score of 1&lt;, and 41% had TROP2 H-score of 10&lt;, while among HER2 low samples, 21% had TROP2 H-score of 0, 27% had TROP2 H-score of 1&lt;, 39% had TROP2 H-score of 10&lt;, and TROP2 H-score of 100&lt; was found in 13% of patients. Based on the definition of co-expression such as TROP2 H-score of 1&lt; and HER2 1+ or more, overall, 40% of the samples had co-expression of HER2 and TROP2, and the metastatic site had a higher rate of co-expression than the primary tumor (49%, 32% respectively, p=0.002).

Conclusions: This study demonstrates that TROP-2 expression by IHC in breast cancer varies between primary and metastatic sites in breast cancer. Metastatic sites and specific organs show higher rate of TROP2 expression. Additionally, 40% of the samples had the co-expression of HER2 and TROP2, suggesting a potential target for future bispecific ADCs therapy.

Citation Format: Mai Onishi, Tatsunori Shimoi, Yuki Kojima, Shu Yazaki, Taro Yamanaka, Rui Kitadai, Asuka Kawachi, Hitomi Okuma, Mai Hoshino, Ayumi Saito, Munehiro Ito, Aiko Maejima, Tadaaki Nishikawa, Kazuki Sudo, Emi Noguchi, Yasuhiro Fujiwara, Masayuki Yoshida, Kan Yonemori. Expression and co-expression patterns of TROP2 and HER2 in breast cancer: implications for bispecific antibody-drug conjugate therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO3-15-12.