Targetable ERBB2/HER2 Mutations in Gynecologic Malignancies: Clinicopathological, Immunohistochemical, and Molecular Correlations

Abstract

Targeted anti-HER2 therapy has been recently added to the standard treatment recommendations in endometrial serous carcinoma. Current eligibility requires testing for HER2 overexpression and/or gene amplification by immunohistochemistry and by fluorescence in situ hybridization. However, clinical trials have also demonstrated the efficacy of anti-HER2 drugs against activating ERBB2/HER2 mutations in a variety of solid tumor types, and fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan is now approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for HER2-mutant non-small cell lung cancer. This study aimed at evaluating the detailed clinical, histomorphological, immunohistochemical, and molecular characteristics of gynecologic malignancies with ERBB2/HER2 mutations. We identified 16 tumors with 19 ERBB2/HER2 mutations in our departmental archives: 11 endometrial primaries, 2 endocervical adenocarcinomas, 1 ovarian mucinous adenocarcinoma, 1 tubo-ovarian undifferentiated carcinoma, and 1 high-grade endometrioid adenocarcinoma of Mullerian origin. ERBB2/HER2 mutations most often involved the tyrosine kinase domain (52.6%), and the most frequent specific mutation was R678Q (31.6%), involving the juxtamembrane domain. More than half (54.5%) of endometrial carcinomas and half of all tumors were MMR-deficient, resulting from MSH6 loss in all but 2 tumors. None of the tumors (0%) were POLE-mutated, while 18.8% were TP53-mutated. HER2 IHC was negative (score 0 or 1+) in 12 tumors (67%) and equivocal (score 2+) in 4 tumors (33%), whereas none of the tumors were scored as HER2 3+. Score 2+ was associated with R678Q, L755S, I767M mutations, and ERBB2/HER2 rearrangement with a breakpoint in exon 23. Concurrent ERBB2/HER2 amplification was identified in 2 endometrial carcinomas, with HER2/CEP17 ratios of 3.1 and 3.5. We also queried the cBioportal database, which revealed 70 ERBB2/HER2-mutant gynecologic tumors with a total of 77 ERBB2/HER2 mutations, most often involving the active site of the tyrosine kinase domain (n=36; 46.8%), and the most common specific mutation was S310F (n=20; 26%), located in the extracellular domain. Our results provide important details regarding the clinicopathological and molecular associations of potentially actionable ERBB2/HER2 mutations in endometrial carcinoma and other gynecological cancer types and contribute to addressing clinical treatment needs and improving pathology testing recommendations in the future.