Mismatch repair deficiency predicts response to HER2 blockade in HER2-negative breast cancer

Resistance to endocrine treatment occurs in ~30% of ER(+) breast cancer patients resulting in ~40,000 deaths/year in the USA. Preclinical studies strongly implicate activation of growth factor receptor, HER2 in endocrine treatment resistance. However, clinical trials of pan-HER inhibitors in ER(+)/HER2(−) patients have disappointed, likely due to a lack of predictive biomarkers. Here we demonstrate that loss of mismatch repair activates HER2 after endocrine treatment in ER(+)/HER2(−) breast cancer cells by protecting HER2 from protein trafficking. Additionally, HER2 activation is indispensable for endocrine treatment resistance in MutL(-) cells. Consequently, inhibiting HER2 restores sensitivity to endocrine treatment. Patient data from multiple clinical datasets supports an association between MutL loss, HER2 upregulation, and sensitivity to HER inhibitors in ER(+)/HER2(−) patients. These results provide strong rationale for MutL loss as a first-in-class predictive marker of sensitivity to combinatorial treatment with endocrine intervention and HER inhibitors in endocrine treatment-resistant ER(+)/HER2(−) breast cancer patients.