When taking a shower, a 47-year-old woman who is gravida 2 para 2 noticed a pea-sized lump in her right breast. She then came to the office. Her three pack-years of cigarette consumption during her 20s have a substantial impact on her medical history. For all of her pregnancies, she underwent in vitro fertilization and infertility therapy. There is no history of breast or ovarian cancer in the patient's family. A hard, fixed lump in the right breast with a little patch of overlying puckered skin is detected during a clinical breast exam. The results of a mammogram are very likely to be cancerous, and a needle biopsy indicates infiltrating ductal carcinoma. A right mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection are scheduled. Overexpression of which of the following markers is most likely to be associated with aggressive disease in this patient?

Question

When taking a shower, a 47-year-old woman who is gravida 2 para 2 noticed a pea-sized lump in her right breast. She then came to the office. Her three pack-years of cigarette consumption during her 20s have a substantial impact on her medical history. For all of her pregnancies, she underwent in vitro fertilization and infertility therapy. There is no history of breast or ovarian cancer in the patient's family. A hard, fixed lump in the right breast with a little patch of overlying puckered skin is detected during a clinical breast exam. The results of a mammogram are very likely to be cancerous, and a needle biopsy indicates infiltrating ductal carcinoma. A right mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection are scheduled.  Overexpression of which of the following markers is most likely to be associated with aggressive disease in this patient?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Eductional Objective: Breast cancer that is estrogen- or progesterone-receptor positive will likely respond well to tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitor therapy. Breast cancer with overexpressed HER2 is thought to be more aggressive and will usually react well to treatment with the anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody trastuzumab.

When Taking a Shower, a 47-Year-Old Woman Who Is Gravida