Open Access

Expression of ERβ gene in breast carcinoma and the relevance in neoadjuvant therapy

  • Authors:
    • Jing Chang
    • Jihong Liu
    • Huiying Li
    • Jing Li
    • Yanling Mu
    • Bin Feng
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: January 30, 2017     https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2017.5659
  • Pages: 1641-1646
  • Copyright: © Chang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

In the present study, we examined the expression of the estrogen receptor β (ERβ) gene in breast cancer and its relevance in neoadjuvant therapy. In total, 120 breast cancer patients who were hospitalized in the Departments of Breast Disease and Medical Oncology served as the subjects of this study. The subjects were diagnosed with breast cancer phase II to phase IIIA, as confirmed by aspiration biopsy and iconography. The patients were divided into two groups in a randomized control manner, with 60 patients in each group. The experimental group was administered the taxotere + epirubicin + cyclophosphamide (TEC) plan for 3-4 cycles of chemotherapy before the modified radical operation of breast cancer. In the control group, no TEC chemotherapy was carried out prior to operation. Instead, the breast lesion was removed directly by operation. After the operation, the IHC method was used to stain the ERβ protein in the lesion tissue. The patients were classified according to whether the basement membrane was broken through; 5 cases had non‑infiltrative carcinoma and 115 cases had infiltrative carcinoma. According to the pathology of the lesion, 114 cases had breast ductal carcinoma, 2 cases had mucinous breast carcinoma (of which there were 2 cases combined with ductal carcinoma), and 4 cases had breast lobular carcinoma. The ERβ gene was found to be expressed in normal and breast cancer tissues. When ERβ gene expression was compared before and after the chemotherapy, its expression was significantly increased in breast cancer tissues, which shows a significant statistical difference (P<0.05). In the experimental group, the expression of ERβ gene in carcinoma tissue was significantly lower than that in the control group, and differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Therefore, expression of the ERβ gene in breast carcinoma tissues was high. The application of adjuvant chemotherapy before the modified radical operation for breast carcinoma can significantly lower the level of ERβ expression. The expression levels of ERβ gene in the carcinoma tissue of the patients can be treated as the evaluation index for neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Regarding targeted therapy and corresponding drug development for breast carcinoma, ERβ can act as one of the specific drug targets.
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March-2017
Volume 13 Issue 3

Print ISSN: 1792-1074
Online ISSN:1792-1082

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Copy and paste a formatted citation
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Spandidos Publications style
Chang J, Liu J, Li H, Li J, Mu Y and Feng B: Expression of ERβ gene in breast carcinoma and the relevance in neoadjuvant therapy. Oncol Lett 13: 1641-1646, 2017
APA
Chang, J., Liu, J., Li, H., Li, J., Mu, Y., & Feng, B. (2017). Expression of ERβ gene in breast carcinoma and the relevance in neoadjuvant therapy. Oncology Letters, 13, 1641-1646. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2017.5659
MLA
Chang, J., Liu, J., Li, H., Li, J., Mu, Y., Feng, B."Expression of ERβ gene in breast carcinoma and the relevance in neoadjuvant therapy". Oncology Letters 13.3 (2017): 1641-1646.
Chicago
Chang, J., Liu, J., Li, H., Li, J., Mu, Y., Feng, B."Expression of ERβ gene in breast carcinoma and the relevance in neoadjuvant therapy". Oncology Letters 13, no. 3 (2017): 1641-1646. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2017.5659