title: Expression patterns of ER, HER2, and NM23-H1 in breast cancer patients with different menopausal status: correlations with metastasis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was designed to analyze expression patterns of estrogen receptor (ER), human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2/ERBB2), and nonmetastatic protein 23 (NM23-H1/NME1) proteins in patients with invasive ductal carcinoma and different menopausal status to identify their relationships with axillary lymph node metastasis.
  
  
  METHODS
  213 pre-menopausal and 177 post-menopausal women diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma were evaluated for ER, HER2, and NM23-H1 protein expression by immunohistochemistry. When HER2 immunoreactivity was equivocal (category 2+), specimens were confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ER expression showed no correlation with menopausal status or lymph node metastasis (each p > 0.05). However, expression of ER was associated with negative expression of HER2 (r = -0.214, p < 0.05) and positive expression of NM23-H1 (r = 0.137, p < 0.05) in the pre-menopausal group. Over-expression of HER2 was correlated with menopausal status (r = -0.107, p < 0.05) and lymph node metastasis in the ER-negative post-menopausal group (r = 0.222, p < 0.05). NM23-H1 was associated with less lymph node metastasis in the ER-positive pre-menopausal group (r = -0.237, p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicated that expression patterns of ER, NM23-H1, and HER2 in primary breast cancer lesions warn that cells might have metastatic potential, which could assist clinicians to provide a more accurate prognosis and tailor therapeutic management for individual patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Biotherapy Center, Third Affiliated Hospital of Kunming School of Medicine (Tumor Hospital of Yunnan Province), Kunming, Yunnan, Peoples Republic of China.
authors.forename: Su-Wei
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sui
authors.forename: Xi-Yun
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Xiao-Dan
authors.initials: XD
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zhi-Wei
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Zhi-Min
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jian-Hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qi-Sheng
authors.initials: QS
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yong-Feng
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000556:secondary; D005260:Female; D018734:Genes, erbB-2; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D054778:NM23 Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D054778:NM23 Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinases; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human; C517938:NME1 protein, human