Implementation of Next-Generation Sequencing in Saudi Arabia for HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer is a common malignancy that poses a hazard to women's health. In 2021, around 2.3 million new cases are predicted to be discovered, with a mortality rate of 6.9% on average. Breast cancer accounts for 14.8% of malignancies among the Saudis with an 8.5% fatality rate. Breast cancers that are HER2 positive account for 15 to 20% of all breast cancers. We intended to investigate the genetic mutations and the clinicopathological aspects of HER2 positive breast cancer patients. We used TruSight Tumor 15 using Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) to look at genetic changes in 126 Saudi women with stage I to IV breast cancer. c-MET (p = 0.001), c-KIT (p = 0.001), and PIK3CA (p = 0.0001), were shown to be substantially linked with HER2 positive patients. We also detected mutations in other genes, including BRAF, EGFR, and KRAS. Tumor size, grade, stage, and nodal status were all associated with increased levels of HER2 expression. Our results recommend that patients with HER2 positive breast cancer in Saudi Arabia have a high mutational burden, which may be related to trastuzumab resistance. We expect that in the future, targeting these mutations will be a promising therapeutic method for the treatment of breast cancer.

Keywords

• HER2 positive
• C-MET
• c-KIT
• PIK3CA