title: Prognostic relevance of ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) mRNA and protein expression in breast cancer patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) belongs to the family of deubiquitinating enzymes. It is overexpressed in various tumour entities and associated with metastases formation in some solid tumours. However, only limited information about its role in breast cancer is available. The aim of this study was to examine the UCH-L1 expression in primary breast cancer and to determine its relevance as a potential prognostic marker.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated both UCH-L1 mRNA expression in microarray data from 182 primary mammary carcinomas and UCH-L1 protein expression using a tissue microarray containing samples from 1,622 breast cancer patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  With both methods, high UCH-L1 expression correlated significantly with negative oestrogen receptor and progesterone receptor status and advanced tumour stage. Moreover by Kaplan-Meier analysis, high UCH-L1 mRNA and protein expression correlated with a significantly shorter overall survival.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data of our study suggest that high levels of UCH-L1 expression indicate a more aggressive tumour behaviour and might represent a potential target in breast cancer treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany, ch.schroeder@uke.de.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schröder
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Milde-Langosch
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gebauer
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.forename: Volkmar
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.forename: Ralph M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Wirtz
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Meyer-Schwesinger
authors.forename: Hartmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schlüter
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sauter
authors.forename: Udo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schumacher
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis; D043222:Ubiquitin Thiolesterase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; C507533:Ubiquitin carboxyl-Terminal Hydrolase L-1, human; D043222:Ubiquitin Thiolesterase