Expression and clinical significance of β-catenin and Axin in metaplastic breast carcinomas

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expression of β-catenin and Axin in metaplastic breast cancer (MBC) tissues, and to understand the relationship between their expression and the clinicopathological parameters. Methods Total of 68 breast cancer tissues and 22 cases of breast cancer adjacent normal tissues were collected from patients who underwent surgery from June 2006 to December 2015 in the Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Harbin Medical University and confirmed by pathology as MBC.Immunohistochemical(IHC) method was used to detect the expression of β-catenin and Axin protein in primary lesions and adjacent normal tissues of patients with MBC.The relationships between the expression of the two protein themselfs(β-catenin protein and Axin protein) and the clinicopathological characteristics of MBC patients were analyzed.In addition, the relationships between the expression of the two protein and the recurrence and metastasis of MBC were also analyzed according to the follow-up data. Results The positive rates of β-catenin and Axin in MBC tissues were 45.6% (31/68) and 47.1% (32/68), respectively.The expression of β-catenin was positively correlated with tumor size and clinical stage(r values were 0.312 and 0.351 respectively, both P values<0.05). The expression of Axin was negatively correlated with tumor size and clinical stage(r values were -0.378 and -0.324, both P values<0.05). The two proteins were not correlated with age, lymph node metastasis, menopausal status and P53 expression.There was a negative correlation between the expression of β-catenin and Axin(r=-0.39, P<0.05). The expression of β-catenin and Axin were correlated with the recurrence and metastasis of MBC(r values were 0.271 and -0.351 respectively, both P values<0.05). Conclusion β-catenin and Axin may be potential treatment target for patient with MBC. Key words: Metaplastic breast cancer; β-catenin; Axin; Recurrence; Metastasis