Caveolin-1: Oncogenic role in breast cancer? Clues from molecular profiling.

Abstract

134 Background: Caveolin-1 (CAV1) is the structural component of caveolae, compartments within the plasma membrane that sequester signaling molecules, thus facilitating molecular “hot spots”. The role of CAV1 in breast cancer is an active area of investigation. We sought to understand the clinical and pathological characteristics of CAV1 positive tumors (CAV 1+) through a retrospective analysis of molecularly-profiled breast cancer patients. Methods: 2,728 breast cancer patients molecularly profiled with a commercial assay (Caris Life Sciences) were evaluated retrospectively for expression of various biomarkers by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization. JMP statistical analysis tool was used to ascertain distributional differences. Results: Using a threshold of 2+ and 30%, 121/2728 (4%) of patients exhibited CAV1 over-expression by IHC. To observe clinicopathologic differences in the CAV1 + and CAV1- tumors, distribution by age, metastatic disease, and triple negative histology (TNBC) were analyzed. Average age for both groups was 55. 39% vs. 54% were metastatic and 74% vs. 26% were TNBC (p = 0.0001) among CAV1+ and CAV1- groups, respectively. To evaluate the potential oncogenic associations of CAV1, we evaluated the relationship between CAV1+ and various oncogenic pathways. Positive EGFR protein expression and presence of EGFR gene amplification, as well as cKIT over-expression associated with CAV1+ (all p-values < 0.001), whereas HER2 expression and amplification were associated with CAV1- (p = 0.001 for both). In addition, higher Ki67, p53 and TOP2A expression by IHC were observed in CAV1+ patients compared to the CAV1- subgroup (90% vs. 66%, 50% vs. 36%, 84% vs. 65% ; all p-values < 0.0001). Biomarker expression differences that did not meet statistical significance: ERCC1, MGMT, PDGFRA, RRM1, SPARC, TS and TOPO1. Conclusions: The majority of CAV1+ breast cancers are comprised of triple negative, higher proliferative tumors, with aberrant p53 expression as well as expression of other growth factor signaling proteins. This data supports the potential role of CAV1 in fostering molecular hubs for signaling and CAV-1 being a potential target for future therapeutic investigation in TNBC.