Erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular A6 overexpression is a novel biomarker of poor prognosis in patients with breast cancer

  • Authors:
    • Danmei Zhou
    • Kehan Ren
    • Jigang Wang
    • Hong Ren
    • Wenlin Yang
    • Wenjuan Wang
    • Qiong Li
    • Xiuping Liu
    • Feng Tang
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: February 1, 2018     https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2018.7919
  • Pages: 5257-5263
Metrics: Total Views: 0 (Spandidos Publications: | PMC Statistics: )
Total PDF Downloads: 0 (Spandidos Publications: | PMC Statistics: )


Abstract

Erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular A6 (EphA6) is a member of the Eph receptor tyrosine kinase family, which has been implicated in tumorigenesis. However, little is known about the expression and function of EphA6 in breast cancer. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of EphA6 and the possible association between EphA6 and clinicopathological characteristics in breast cancer. In the present study, EphA6 mRNA expression was measured in 26 paired breast cancer tissues and adjacent non‑cancerous tissues by reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Additionally, the protein expression of EphA6 in breast cancer tissues from 116 patients was examined by immunohistochemistry, and the prognostic value for patients with breast cancer was evaluated. The results of the present study indicated that EphA6 mRNA and protein expression in breast cancer was significantly higher than that in adjacent non‑cancerous tissues (P<0.001). EphA6 overexpression was significantly associated with a high histological grade (P<0.001), overexpression of human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER‑2; P=0.0106), low estrogen receptor expression (P=0.0247) and low progesterone receptor expression (P=0.0015). Furthermore, the increased expression of EphA6 was demonstrated to be associated with breast cancer subtypes (P=0.0164). Kaplan‑Meier curves demonstrated that high EphA6 expression was associated with lower overall survival rates in patients with breast cancer (P=0.015). Univariate and multivariate analysis revealed that high EphA6 expression, Tumor‑Node‑Metastasis classification and subtype were independent prognostic factors for patients with breast cancer (all P<0.05). In conclusion, EphA6 may serve an important role in breast carcinogenesis and may pose as a novel prognostic indicator and therapeutic target for breast cancer, particularly in patients with steroid receptor negative expression and HER‑2 overexpression.
View Figures
View References

Related Articles

Journal Cover

April-2018
Volume 15 Issue 4

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

Sign up for eToc alerts

Recommend to Library

Copy and paste a formatted citation
x
Spandidos Publications style
Zhou D, Ren K, Wang J, Ren H, Yang W, Wang W, Li Q, Liu X and Tang F: Erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular A6 overexpression is a novel biomarker of poor prognosis in patients with breast cancer. Oncol Lett 15: 5257-5263, 2018
APA
Zhou, D., Ren, K., Wang, J., Ren, H., Yang, W., Wang, W. ... Tang, F. (2018). Erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular A6 overexpression is a novel biomarker of poor prognosis in patients with breast cancer. Oncology Letters, 15, 5257-5263. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2018.7919
MLA
Zhou, D., Ren, K., Wang, J., Ren, H., Yang, W., Wang, W., Li, Q., Liu, X., Tang, F."Erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular A6 overexpression is a novel biomarker of poor prognosis in patients with breast cancer". Oncology Letters 15.4 (2018): 5257-5263.
Chicago
Zhou, D., Ren, K., Wang, J., Ren, H., Yang, W., Wang, W., Li, Q., Liu, X., Tang, F."Erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular A6 overexpression is a novel biomarker of poor prognosis in patients with breast cancer". Oncology Letters 15, no. 4 (2018): 5257-5263. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2018.7919