Non-secretory breast carcinomas lack NTRK rearrangements and TRK protein expression

Abstract

Anti-TRK targeted therapies offer opportunities to treat patients with advanced NTRK1/2/3-rearranged cancers. Beyond NTRK-rearranged secretory breast carcinomas, little is known about NTRK rearrangements and the expression of TRK proteins in non-secretory breast carcinomas. We search for TRK proteins expressions using pan-TRK immunohistochemistry and NTRK1, NTRK2 and NTRK3 rearrangements using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) tests in a set of tissue microarray included breast carcinomas. Only 1/339 invasive breast carcinomas, the only example of secretory subtype, was positive using pan-TRK immunohistochemistry and harboured a NTRK-rearrangement (NTRK1 positive FISH test). According to our results, druggable NTRK rearrangements and related-TRK proteins expression are not encountered in non-secretory breast carcinomas.

Keywords: NTRK; breast cancer; secretory carcinoma.