Abstract
Purpose. The objective of this study was to compare the salivary protein profiles from individuals diagnosed with breast cancer that were either HER2/neu receptor positive or negative. Methods. Two pooled saliva specimens underwent proteomic analysis. One pooled specimen was from women diagnosed with stage IIa HER2/neu-receptor-positive breast cancer patients (n = 10) and the other was from women diagnosed with stage IIa HER2/neu-receptor-negative cancer patients (n = 10). The pooled samples were trypsinized and the peptides labeled with iTRAQ reagent. Specimens were analyzed using an LC-MS/MS mass spectrometer. Results. The results yielded approximately 71 differentially expressed proteins in the saliva specimens. There were 34 upregulated proteins and 37 downregulated proteins.
Highlights
Clinicopathologic factors such as histological type, tumor size, tumor grade, hormone receptor status, lymph node involvement, and HER-2/neu overexpression are recognized as having prognostic use in breast cancer management
Unlike most testing performed by anatomic pathologists, which serves as an adjunct to establishing a diagnosis, the results of HER2 testing stand alone in determining which patients are likely to respond to trastuzumab therapy
One specimen consisted of pooled saliva from 10 stage IIa (T2N0M0) HER2-receptorstatus-positive invasive ductal carcinoma patients (IDC), and the second pooled specimen was from 10 subjects diagnosed with stage IIb (T2N0M0), HER2-receptor-status-positive invasive ductal carcinoma
Summary
Clinicopathologic factors such as histological type, tumor size, tumor grade, hormone receptor status, lymph node involvement, and HER-2/neu overexpression are recognized as having prognostic use in breast cancer management. HER-2/neu (HER2), known as c-erbB-2, is a biomarker assayed in tissue biopsies from women diagnosed with malignant breast tumors [1, 2]. Used primarily as a prognostic indicator, HER2/neu protein is overexpressed in approximately 20%–30% of malignant breast tumors and has been used in postoperative followup evaluation as an indicator of patient relapse [3,4,5,6]. The evolution of HER2 testing, first as a prognostic marker assay and later as a diagnostic test to determine eligibility for trastuzumab-targeted therapy, has expanded the role of traditional diagnostic pathology. Unlike most testing performed by anatomic pathologists, which serves as an adjunct to establishing a diagnosis, the results of HER2 testing stand alone in determining which patients are likely to respond to trastuzumab therapy. HER2 status may predict sensitivity to certain cytotoxic drugs and antiestrogens [3,4,5,6]
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