Expression of p53, Ki-67, E-cadherin, N-cadherin and TOP2A in triple-negative breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Elucidation of the biological features of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is important for deciding treatment strategies. The expression of a number of biomarkers in TNBC was analyzed to elucidate those features.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: The subjects were 134 TNBC patients. Immunohistochemical staining was employed to analyze for eight biomarkers: cytokeratin 5/6 (CK5/6), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), p53, Ki-67 antigen (Ki-67), E-cadherin, N-cadherin, topoisomerase 2 alpha (TOP2A) and B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2), which were then correlated with the nuclear grade (NG), tumor diameter, and the presence/absence of lymph node metastasis, distant recurrence and lymphatic infiltration.

RESULTS: Significantly more high than low NG TNBC exhibited positive p53, Ki-67, E-cadherin and TOP2A. High N-cadherin and TOP2A expression was shown significantly in TNBC with lymphatic infiltration, and N-cadherin was also significantly positively expressed in node metastasis-positive cases. EGFR and CK5/6 were positively expressed in high NG TNBC, but not significantly.

CONCLUSION: Analysis for expression of p53, Ki-67, E-cadherin, N-cadherin and TOP2A is meaningful for deciding treatment strategies for TNBC.