Expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 in breast cancer and its clinical significance.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in breast cancer tissue and normal breast tissue in breast cancer patients and whether it was correlated with clinical parameters.


METHODS
Seventy-six breast cancer patients were retrospectively analyzed in the patient database of our hospital. The expression of STAT3 in 30 normal breast tissues and 76 breast carcinoma tissues of breast cancer patients was determined using immunohistochemical staining assay. The clinical characteristics such as age, tumor diameter, clinical stage, pathology grade, and lymph node metastasis were recorded by two authors. The correlation of STAT3 expression and clinical parameters were analyzed by Chi-square test with Stata version 11.0 software.


RESULTS
The positive expression of STAT3 in normal breast tissues (23%) was significantly lower than that in breast carcinoma (66%) (P < 0.05). The expression of STAT3 in breast carcinoma was significantly associated with the clinical stage (P < 0.05), differentiation (P < 0.05), and lymphatic metastasis (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The positive expression rate of STAT3 was higher in breast cancer tissue compared to normal breast tissue, which was correlated with clinical stage, tumor differentiation, and lymph metastasis.
Guo
G
Wei
Zhang
Z
Mingliang
Chen
C
Yong
Department of Gynecology Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui 233004, PR China.
Guo
G
Suyang
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor