Abstract
Purpose: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), characterized by the absence of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, is a highly heterogeneous disease. Recent studies suggest that there are links between TNBC and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). To identify prognostic biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets, vimentin, one of the most major factors associated with EMT was investigated in TNBC. Materials and methods: Sporadic invasive ductal carcinoma specimens were obtained from 659 Japanese patients, and 90 (14 %) cases were diagnosed as TNBC. The vimentin mRNA and protein expression levels were evaluated by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. Results: The mRNA expression of vimentin was significantly upregulated in the basal-type breast cancer cell line. Immunohistochemically, the vimentin expression was significantly higher (p = 0.0042) in TNBC compared with the other subtypes. Vimentin expression was associated with a younger age (p = 0.016), high nuclear grade (p = 0.023) and high Ki67 expression (p < 0.0001), and a poorer prognosis in terms of both the recurrence-free survival (RFS) (p = 0.0058) and overall survival (OS) (p = 0.013) in TNBC patients. A multivariate analysis showed that vimentin expression was an independent prognostic factor for the RFS (p = 0.043). Vimentin expression was also associated with a significantly shorter RFS (p = 0.021) and OS (p = 0.017) in patients with basal-like breast cancer (BLBC). Conclusions: The elevated expression of vimentin contributes to the aggressive phenotype and poor prognosis in TNBC. Vimentin expression might be useful as a biomarker for the prognosis of TNBC.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 739-746 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology |
| Volume | 139 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - May 1 2013 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Oncology
- Cancer Research
Cite this
Vimentin as a poor prognostic factor for triple-negative breast cancer. / Yamashita, Nami; Tokunaga, Eriko; Kitao, Hiroyuki; Hisamatsu, Yuichi; Taketani, Kenji; Akiyoshi, Sayuri; Okada, Satoko; Aishima, Shinichi; Morita, Masaru; Maehara, Yoshihiko.
In: Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology, Vol. 139, No. 5, 01.05.2013, p. 739-746.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Vimentin as a poor prognostic factor for triple-negative breast cancer
AU - Yamashita, Nami
AU - Tokunaga, Eriko
AU - Kitao, Hiroyuki
AU - Hisamatsu, Yuichi
AU - Taketani, Kenji
AU - Akiyoshi, Sayuri
AU - Okada, Satoko
AU - Aishima, Shinichi
AU - Morita, Masaru
AU - Maehara, Yoshihiko
PY - 2013/5/1
Y1 - 2013/5/1
N2 - Purpose: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), characterized by the absence of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, is a highly heterogeneous disease. Recent studies suggest that there are links between TNBC and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). To identify prognostic biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets, vimentin, one of the most major factors associated with EMT was investigated in TNBC. Materials and methods: Sporadic invasive ductal carcinoma specimens were obtained from 659 Japanese patients, and 90 (14 %) cases were diagnosed as TNBC. The vimentin mRNA and protein expression levels were evaluated by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. Results: The mRNA expression of vimentin was significantly upregulated in the basal-type breast cancer cell line. Immunohistochemically, the vimentin expression was significantly higher (p = 0.0042) in TNBC compared with the other subtypes. Vimentin expression was associated with a younger age (p = 0.016), high nuclear grade (p = 0.023) and high Ki67 expression (p < 0.0001), and a poorer prognosis in terms of both the recurrence-free survival (RFS) (p = 0.0058) and overall survival (OS) (p = 0.013) in TNBC patients. A multivariate analysis showed that vimentin expression was an independent prognostic factor for the RFS (p = 0.043). Vimentin expression was also associated with a significantly shorter RFS (p = 0.021) and OS (p = 0.017) in patients with basal-like breast cancer (BLBC). Conclusions: The elevated expression of vimentin contributes to the aggressive phenotype and poor prognosis in TNBC. Vimentin expression might be useful as a biomarker for the prognosis of TNBC.
AB - Purpose: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), characterized by the absence of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, is a highly heterogeneous disease. Recent studies suggest that there are links between TNBC and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). To identify prognostic biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets, vimentin, one of the most major factors associated with EMT was investigated in TNBC. Materials and methods: Sporadic invasive ductal carcinoma specimens were obtained from 659 Japanese patients, and 90 (14 %) cases were diagnosed as TNBC. The vimentin mRNA and protein expression levels were evaluated by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. Results: The mRNA expression of vimentin was significantly upregulated in the basal-type breast cancer cell line. Immunohistochemically, the vimentin expression was significantly higher (p = 0.0042) in TNBC compared with the other subtypes. Vimentin expression was associated with a younger age (p = 0.016), high nuclear grade (p = 0.023) and high Ki67 expression (p < 0.0001), and a poorer prognosis in terms of both the recurrence-free survival (RFS) (p = 0.0058) and overall survival (OS) (p = 0.013) in TNBC patients. A multivariate analysis showed that vimentin expression was an independent prognostic factor for the RFS (p = 0.043). Vimentin expression was also associated with a significantly shorter RFS (p = 0.021) and OS (p = 0.017) in patients with basal-like breast cancer (BLBC). Conclusions: The elevated expression of vimentin contributes to the aggressive phenotype and poor prognosis in TNBC. Vimentin expression might be useful as a biomarker for the prognosis of TNBC.
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U2 - 10.1007/s00432-013-1376-6
DO - 10.1007/s00432-013-1376-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 23354842
AN - SCOPUS:84876295683
VL - 139
SP - 739
EP - 746
JO - Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology
JF - Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology
SN - 0171-5216
IS - 5
ER -