Impact of NOTCH1 expression in primary breast adenoid cystic carcinoma

Aims: Adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCC) originates from salivary-type like glands in the head and neck, lung, and breast. AdCC shows chromosomal translocation, resulting in MYB::NFIB fusion and overexpression of MYB. Recently, NOTCH1 pathway alteration has been recognised in a subset of patients with salivary gland AdCC and has been shown to be associated with poor survival. In this study, we investigated the correlation of NOTCH1 pathway alteration with the clinical outcome of patients with primary breast AdCC by examining NOTCH1 immunoreactivity in attempts to better predict clinical outcomes.

Methods: We identified 25 cases of breast AdCC, reviewed the clinical outcome and performed immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for NOTCH1 on FFPE sections.

Results: IHC evaluation of NOTCH1 expression in 25 cases of primary breast AdCCs revealed a positive correlation between NOTCH1 expression and primary tumour size. All cases with NOTCH1 expression were greater than 15 mm in size at presentation but only 50% of NOTCH1 negative tumours were greater than 15 mm. We demonstrated a positive correlation between NOTCH1 positive AdCCs and recurrence/metastases. 63.6% of NOTCH1 positive AdCCs had either metastases or recurrence. On the contrary, only 21.5% of NOTCH1 negative AdCCs had recurrence or metastases. AdCCs with NOTCH1 positivity correlated with inferior relapse free survival (median 33 vs 129 months).

Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that in patients with breast AdCC, overexpression of NOTCH1 ≥20% is associated with larger tumour size and aggressive clinical outcomes. Importantly, NOTCH1 inhibitors may have potential therapeutic effect in patients with breast AdCC.