title: POU5F1/Oct-4 expression in breast cancer tissue is significantly associated with non-sentinel lymph node metastasis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  At present, few studies have explored the significance of POU5F1 (also known as octamer-bingding factor, Oct-4 or Oct-3) expression in breast cancer tissues.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 121 patients were retrospectively selected between May 2010 and March 2013 to investigate the relationship between POU5F1/Oct-4 expression in breast cancer tissues and non-sentinel lymph node (non-SLN) metastases and to validate the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) nomogram. All patients had early-stage breast cancer, which was histologically confirmed by the Department of Surgical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University. Histological type and grade of tumors were determined from tissue samples by hematoxylin and eosin staining, while the presence of POU5F1/Oct-4 protein was determined by immunohistochemistry. POU5F1/Oct-4 expression levels in tissues obtained from patients with sentinel lymph node (SLN) and non-SLN metastasis and in tissues obtained from patients without lymph node metastases were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  POU5F1/Oct-4 expression levels in breast cancer tissues were significantly higher in both the SLN metastasis and non-SLN metastasis groups (P = 0.003 and P = 0.030, respectively). Furthermore, POU5F1/Oct-4 expression was found to be associated to both histological (P = 0.01) and molecular type (P = 0.03). Thus, our data once again confirms the validity of the MSKCC nomogram. The area under curve (AUC) was 0.919 (95 % CI: 0.869-0.969, P < 0.001). The probability of non-SLN metastasis generated from the MSKCC nomgram was significantly higher in the POU5F1/Oct-4 positive group than in the POU5F1/Oct-4 negative group. Both univariate and multivariate analysis revealed that Oct-4 expression levels were significantly associated with non-SLN metastases (P = 0.030 and P = 0.034, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  POU5F1/Oct-4 expression levels are significantly associated with non-SLN metastases. Patients with higher probabilities of metastasis generated from the MSKCC nomogram may also have higher POU5F1/Oct-4 expression levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, The First Hospital of China Medical University, #155, Nanjingbei Street, Heping District, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, PR China. niccsl@163.com.|Department of Surgery, Ansteel Group Hospital, No.3, Jianshen Road, Tiedong District, Anshan, Liaoning Province, PR China. niccsl@163.com.
authors.forename: Shouliang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Ansteel Group Hospital, No.3, Jianshen Road, Tiedong District, Anshan, Liaoning Province, PR China. niccslgjt@163.com.
authors.forename: Shugang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, The First Hospital of China Medical University, #155, Nanjingbei Street, Heping District, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, PR China. Jinfeng66cn@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Ansteel Group Hospital, No.3, Jianshen Road, Tiedong District, Anshan, Liaoning Province, PR China. Liu_jisheng@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Jisheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Ansteel Group Hospital, No.3, Jianshen Road, Tiedong District, Anshan, Liaoning Province, PR China. AGZYQC@163.com.
authors.forename: Chang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast Surgery, The First Hospital of China Medical University, #155, Nanjingbei Street, Heping District, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, PR China. chbyxl@163.com.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3