POU5F1/Oct-4 expression in breast cancer tissue is significantly associated with non-sentinel lymph node metastasis.

Shouliang Cai,Chang Qu,Bo Chen,Shugang Geng,Feng Jin,Jisheng Liu

doi:10.1186/s12885-015-1966-6

Abstract

BackgroundAt present, few studies have explored the significance of POU5F1 (also known as octamer-bingding factor, Oct-4 or Oct-3) expression in breast cancer tissues.MethodsA total of 121 patients were retrospectively selected between May 2010 and March 2013 to investigate the relationship between POU5F1/Oct-4 expression in breast cancer tissues and non-sentinel lymph node (non-SLN) metastases and to validate the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) nomogram. All patients had early-stage breast cancer, which was histologically confirmed by the Department of Surgical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University. Histological type and grade of tumors were determined from tissue samples by hematoxylin and eosin staining, while the presence of POU5F1/Oct-4 protein was determined by immunohistochemistry. POU5F1/Oct-4 expression levels in tissues obtained from patients with sentinel lymph node (SLN) and non-SLN metastasis and in tissues obtained from patients without lymph node metastases were compared.ResultsPOU5F1/Oct-4 expression levels in breast cancer tissues were significantly higher in both the SLN metastasis and non-SLN metastasis groups (P = 0.003 and P = 0.030, respectively). Furthermore, POU5F1/Oct-4 expression was found to be associated to both histological (P = 0.01) and molecular type (P = 0.03). Thus, our data once again confirms the validity of the MSKCC nomogram. The area under curve (AUC) was 0.919 (95 % CI: 0.869–0.969, P < 0.001). The probability of non-SLN metastasis generated from the MSKCC nomgram was significantly higher in the POU5F1/Oct-4 positive group than in the POU5F1/Oct-4 negative group. Both univariate and multivariate analysis revealed that Oct-4 expression levels were significantly associated with non-SLN metastases (P = 0.030 and P = 0.034, respectively).ConclusionsPOU5F1/Oct-4 expression levels are significantly associated with non-SLN metastases. Patients with higher probabilities of metastasis generated from the MSKCC nomogram may also have higher POU5F1/Oct-4 expression levels.

Highlights

At present, few studies have explored the significance of POU5F1 expression in breast cancer tissues
A complete axillary dissection is often performed to determine whether non-sentinel lymph node (non-Sentinel lymph node (SLN)) are involved and whether tumors have occurred in SLNs
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to predict the possibility of lymph node metastasis

Summary

Introduction

Few studies have explored the significance of POU5F1 ( known as octamer-bingding factor, Oct-4 or Oct-3) expression in breast cancer tissues. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to predict the possibility of lymph node metastasis This model was established based on a retrospective analysis of 3786 cases that underwent lymph nodes biopsy. Among these cases, 1548 patients were studied to validate the prediction model, yielding an AUC of 0.754 [7]. This indicates that the MSKCC nomogram has excellent clinical value in predicting lymph node metastases This has been the most widely used model, this model was established based solely on patients from medical centers of the United States [7]; which may result in inaccuracy, considering factors such as ethnic or environment. Few predictors are eligible, some potential predictors have already been found [8, 9]

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