Abstract
BackgroundThe luminal subtype of breast cancer is sensitive to anti-estrogen therapy and shows a better prognosis than that of human epidermal growth factor receptor2 (HER2)-enriched or triple-negative breast cancer. However, the luminal type of breast cancer is heterogeneous and can have aggressive clinical features. We investigated the clinical implications of single hormone receptor negativity in a luminal B HER2-negative group.MethodsWe collected luminal B HER2-negative breast cancer data that were estrogen receptor (ER) and/or progesterone receptor (PR) positive, Ki 67 high (>14 %), and HER2 negative and divided them into the ER- and PR-positive group and the ER- or PR-negative group. We analyzed the clinical and pathological data and survival according to ER or PR loss.ResultsThere were no statistical differences in TNM stage, breast and axillary operative methods, or number of tumors between the ER- and PR-positive group and ER- or PR-negative group. However, the ER- or PR-negative group was associated with older age (≥45 years), higher histological grade, lower Bcl-2 expression, and far higher Ki 67 (>50 %). Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were shorter in the ER- or PR-negative group than that in the ER- and PR-positive group (p = 0.0038, p = 0.0071).ConclusionsER- or PR-negative subgroup showed worse prognosis than ER- and PR-positive subgroup in the luminal B HER2-negative group. We could consider the negativity of ER or PR as prognostic marker in luminal B HER2-negative subtype of breast cancer.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12957-016-0999-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
The luminal subtype of breast cancer is sensitive to anti-estrogen therapy and shows a better prognosis than that of human epidermal growth factor receptor2 (HER2)-enriched or triple-negative breast cancer
Gene expression profiling studies for breast cancer have unveiled that breast cancer has very heterogeneous biological characteristics and at least four molecular distinct subtypes, such as luminal A and B, human epidermal growth factor receptor2 (HER2)enriched, and basal-like subtypes have been identified over the few last decades [1,2,3]
Axillary lymph node dissection was performed in 112 patients (60.9 %), sentinel lymph node biopsy in 70 patients (38.0 %), and an axillary procedure was omitted in 2 patients
Summary
The luminal subtype of breast cancer is sensitive to anti-estrogen therapy and shows a better prognosis than that of human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2)-enriched or triple-negative breast cancer. Gene expression profiling studies for breast cancer have unveiled that breast cancer has very heterogeneous biological characteristics and at least four molecular distinct subtypes, such as luminal A and B, human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2)enriched, and basal-like subtypes have been identified over the few last decades [1,2,3]. ER- or PR-positive breast cancers are classified as the luminal subtype, which have a more favorable prognosis and are more responsive to anti-estrogen therapy than that of ERand PR-negative breast cancer [12,13,14]. We performed this study to determine the clinical implications of single hormone receptor loss by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining methods in a luminal B HER2-negative group
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