Prognostic Role of PTEN Gene Expression in Breast Cancer Patients from North-East Iran

Abstract

<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: small;">Background</span></span><span style="font-size: small;">: PTEN protein is one of the most important tumour suppressor factors which is detectable by immunohistochemistry. The goal of the present study was to investigate the prognostic role of PTEN gene expression in breast cancer patients. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Materials and Methods</span>: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 100 breast cancer patients referred to Sabzevar hospitals in the north-east of Iran between 2010 and 2011, who </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">were followed up to 2015. PTEN gene expression in tissue samples was determined using specific monoclonal </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">antibodies and data were analyzed using Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test. Patient survival was analyzed after 4 years of follow-up using the Cox regression model. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Results</span>: PTEN gene expression was evident in 70 </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">of 100 cnacer samples but was found at high levels in all non-cancer samples. There was an inverse significant </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">relationship between PTEN gene expression and tumour stage or tumour grade (p<0.001). The expression of </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">PTEN in invasive ductal tumours was lower than in non-invasive tumours. There was also an inverse significant </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">relationship between the hazard of death and PTEN gene expression (p<0.001). In addition, there was an inverse </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">significant relationship between tumour stage and hazard of death (p<0.001). </span></span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: small;">Conclusion</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">: These findings indicate </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">that lack of PTEN gene expression can be a sign of a worse prognosis and poor survival in breast cancer cases. </span>