HER2's new mutations

Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine researchers have used next-generation sequencing to identify mutations in HER2 that are missed by standard screening tests that identify only amplifications.¹ Based on the findings, the researchers are now recruiting patients with breast cancer expressing the mutations for a Phase II trial of Puma Biotechnology Inc.'s HER2-targeting compound, neratinib.

Amplification of the gene encoding HER2 (EGFR2; ErbB2; neu) is a driver of aggressive forms of breast cancer and occurs about 23% of the time.² Based on 2012 epidemiological data from the American Cancer Society, that frequency translates to about 52,000 U.S. patients who might be eligible for drugs targeting amplified HER2...