Open Access

Squalene epoxidase expression is associated with breast tumor progression and with a poor prognosis in breast cancer

  • Authors:
    • Nah Ihm Kim
    • Min Ho Park
    • Sun-Seog Kweon
    • Namki Cho
    • Ji Shin Lee
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: February 4, 2021     https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2021.12520
  • Article Number: 259
  • Copyright: © Kim et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) have been previously identified using massive parallel RNA sequencing in matched normal, breast cancer (BC) and nodal metastatic tissues. Squalene epoxidase (SQLE), one of these DEGs, is a key enzyme in cholesterol synthesis. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential involvement of SQLE in the tumorigenic process of BC and to determine its association with the clinical outcome of BC. SQLE mRNA expression was measured using reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR in 10 pairs of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and BC tissues and their adjacent normal tissues. Immunohistochemical staining of SQLE on tissue microarray was performed in 26 normal breast, 79 DCIS and 198 BC samples. The role of SQLE as a prognostic biomarker in patients with BC has been verified using BreastMark. SQLE mRNA expression was significantly increased in DCIS and BC tissues compared with that in their adjacent normal tissues. High SQLE expression was detected in 0, 48.1 and 40.4% of normal breast, DCIS and BC tissues, respectively. SQLE expression in DCIS and BC tissues was significantly higher than that in normal breast tissues. High SQLE expression was observed in DCIS with higher nuclear grade, comedo‑type necrosis and HER2 positivity. High SQLE expression in BC was associated with larger tumor size, nodal metastases, higher stage, HER2 subtype and distant metastatic relapse. High SQLE expression was associated with poor disease‑free and overall survival, and independently predicted poor disease‑free survival in patients with BC. Following BreastMark analysis, high SQLE mRNA expression in BC was significantly associated with a poor prognosis in the ‘all’, lymph node negative, lymph node positive, luminal A subtype and luminal B subtype groups. Therefore, SQLE expression may be upregulated during the tumorigenic process of BC, and high SQLE expression may be a useful biomarker for predicting a poor prognosis in patients with BC.
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April-2021
Volume 21 Issue 4

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Copy and paste a formatted citation
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Spandidos Publications style
Kim NI, Park MH, Kweon S, Cho N and Lee JS: Squalene epoxidase expression is associated with breast tumor progression and with a poor prognosis in breast cancer. Oncol Lett 21: 259, 2021.
APA
Kim, N.I., Park, M.H., Kweon, S., Cho, N., & Lee, J.S. (2021). Squalene epoxidase expression is associated with breast tumor progression and with a poor prognosis in breast cancer. Oncology Letters, 21, 259. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2021.12520
MLA
Kim, N. I., Park, M. H., Kweon, S., Cho, N., Lee, J. S."Squalene epoxidase expression is associated with breast tumor progression and with a poor prognosis in breast cancer". Oncology Letters 21.4 (2021): 259.
Chicago
Kim, N. I., Park, M. H., Kweon, S., Cho, N., Lee, J. S."Squalene epoxidase expression is associated with breast tumor progression and with a poor prognosis in breast cancer". Oncology Letters 21, no. 4 (2021): 259. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2021.12520