High expression level of alpha 6 integrin in human breast carcinoma is correlated with reduced survival.
We recently reported that alpha 6 integrin mediates experimental metastasis in mice by functioning in the adhesion of tumor cells to the vascular endothelium. In the current study, we investigated the expression of human alpha 6 integrin in invasive breast carcinomas of 119 women. In 50% of the tumors alpha 6 integrin was expressed in the majority of the cells, and this expression was correlated with reduced survival time. By contrast, the 24% of patients with breast tumors devoid of alpha 6 integrin expression all survived. The tumors were also evaluated for clinical risk factors including histological grading and steroid receptor level. The combination of these factors with alpha 6 integrin expression was superior in predicting overall survival than considering the other factors alone. The correlation with decreased survival time was consistent, regardless of whether the tumors expressed the alpha 6 integrin A or B forms, which differ in their cytoplasmic domain. On the basis of this pilot study we consider alpha 6 integrin expression to be a novel prognostic marker for human breast cancer.
Department of Gynecology, University of Hamburg, Medical School, Germany.
K
K
Friedrichs
P
P
Ruiz
F
F
Franke
I
I
Gille
H J
HJ
Terpe
B A
BA
Imhof
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001940:Breast / Q000737:chemistry; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D039503:Integrin alpha6; D016023:Integrins / Q000032:analysis*; D007536:Isomerism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D051381:Rats; D012016:Reference Values; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis
D039503:Integrin alpha6; D016023:Integrins