Abstract
Histologic tumor grade is a well-established prognostic factor for breast cancer, and tumor grade-associated genes are the common denominator of many prognostic gene signatures. The objectives of this study are as follows: (a) to develop a simple gene expression index for tumor grade (molecular grade index or MGI), and (b) to determine whether MGI and our previously described HOXB13:IL17BR index together provide improved prognostic information. From our previously published list of genes whose expression correlates with both tumor grade and tumor stage progression, we selected five cell cycle-related genes to build MGI and evaluated MGI in two publicly available microarray data sets totaling 410 patients. Using two additional cohorts (n = 323), we developed a real-time reverse transcription PCR assay for MGI, validated its prognostic utility, and examined its interaction with HOXB13:IL17BR. MGI performed consistently as a strong prognostic factor and was comparable with a more complex 97-gene genomic grade index in multiple data sets. In patients treated with endocrine therapy, MGI and HOXB13:IL17BR modified each other's prognostic performance. High MGI was associated with significantly worse outcome only in combination with high HOXB13:IL17BR, and likewise, high HOXB13:IL17BR was significantly associated with poor outcome only in combination with high MGI. We developed and validated a five-gene reverse transcription PCR assay for MGI suitable for analyzing routine formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded clinical samples. The combination of MGI and HOXB13:IL17BR outperforms either alone and identifies a subgroup ( approximately 30%) of early stage estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer patients with very poor outcome despite endocrine therapy.
Highlights
Histologic tumor grade is a well-established prognostic factor for breast cancer, and tumor grade ^ associated genes are the common denominator of many prognostic gene signatures
Because high HOXB13 and low IL17BR expression levels are associated with recurrence, we proposed that a simple HOXB13:IL17BR two-gene ratio could serve as a novel biomarker for predicting recurrence in breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant tamoxifen therapy
In our previous study of gene expression associated with breast cancer progression, we showed hundreds of genes differentially expressed between tumors of low and high histologic grade [19]
Summary
Histologic tumor grade is a well-established prognostic factor for breast cancer, and tumor grade ^ associated genes are the common denominator of many prognostic gene signatures. The combination of MGI and HOXB13:IL17BR outperforms either alone and identifies a subgroup (f30%) of early stage estrogen receptor ^ positive breast cancer patients with very poor outcome despite endocrine therapy. Four signatures (the intrinsic subtypes, 70-gene signature, wound response signature, and Recurrence Score) were found to be highly concordant in classifying patients into low and high-risk groups [4] Combining these signatures did not yield significant improvement in predictive accuracy, suggesting that the prognostic information provided by these signatures is largely overlapping [4]. Because high HOXB13 and low IL17BR expression levels are associated with recurrence, we proposed that a simple HOXB13:IL17BR two-gene ratio could serve as a novel biomarker for predicting recurrence in breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant tamoxifen therapy. We implemented a robust real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assay for MGI and show that MGI together with HOXB13:IL17BR provides more accurate prognosis than either biomarker alone
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