Targeting HER2 in colorectal cancer: The landscape of amplification and short variant mutations in ERBB2 and ERBB3

BACKGROUND In contrast to lung cancer, few precision treatments are available for colorectal cancer (CRC). One rapidly emerging treatment target in CRC is ERBB2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 [HER2]). Oncogenic alterations in HER2, or its dimerization partner HER3, can underlie sensitivity to HER2‐targeted therapies. METHODS In this study, 8887 CRC cases were evaluated by comprehensive genomic profiling for genomic alterations in 315 cancer‐related genes, tumor mutational burden, and microsatellite instability. This cohort included both colonic (7599 cases; 85.5%) and rectal (1288 cases; 14.5%) adenocarcinomas. RESULTS A total of 569 mCRCs were positive for ERBB2 (429 cases; 4.8%) and/or ERBB3 (148 cases; 1.7%) and featured ERBB amplification, short variant alterations, or a combination of the 2. High tumor mutational burden (≥20 mutations/Mb) was significantly more common in ERBB‐mutated samples, and ERBB3‐mutated CRCs were significantly more likely to have high microsatellite instability (P