title: Estrogen Receptor Expression Is Associated with DNA Repair Capacity in Breast Cancer.
abstract: Estrogen-receptor-positive (ER+) tumors employ complex signaling that engages in crosstalk with multiple pathways through genomic and non-genomic regulation. A greater understanding of these pathways is important for developing improved biomarkers that can better determine treatment choices, risk of recurrence and cancer progression. Deficiencies in DNA repair capacity (DRC) is a hallmark of breast cancer (BC); therefore, in this work we tested whether ER signaling influences DRC. We analyzed the association between ER positivity (% receptor activation) and DRC in 270 BC patients, then further stratified our analysis by HER2 receptor status. Our results show that among HER2 negative, the likelihood of having low DRC values among ER- women is 1.92 (95% CI: 1.03, 3.57) times the likelihood of having low DRC values among ER+ women, even adjusting for different potential confounders (p<0.05); however, a contrary pattern was observed among HER2 positives women. In conclusion, there is an association between DRC levels and ER status, and this association is modified by HER2 receptor status. Adding a DNA repair capacity test to hormone receptor testing may provide new information on defective DNA repair phenotypes, which could better stratify BC patients who have ER+ tumors. ER+/HER2- tumors are heterogeneous, incompletely defined, and clinically challenging to treat; the addition of a DRC test could better characterize and classify these patients as well as help clinicians select optimal therapies, which could improve outcomes and reduce recurrences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Sciences, Division of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Ponce Health Sciences University-School of Medicine, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce, Puerto Rico, United States of America.|Department of Basic Sciences, Division of Cancer Biology, Ponce Health Sciences University-School of Medicine, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce, Puerto Rico, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matta
authors.affiliation: Public Health Program, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce, Puerto Rico, United States of America.
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Morales
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Sciences, Division of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Ponce Health Sciences University-School of Medicine, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce, Puerto Rico, United States of America.|Department of Basic Sciences, Division of Cancer Biology, Ponce Health Sciences University-School of Medicine, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce, Puerto Rico, United States of America.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ortiz
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Sciences, Division of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Ponce Health Sciences University-School of Medicine, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce, Puerto Rico, United States of America.|Department of Basic Sciences, Division of Cancer Biology, Ponce Health Sciences University-School of Medicine, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce, Puerto Rico, United States of America.
authors.forename: Damian
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Sciences, Division of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Ponce Health Sciences University-School of Medicine, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce, Puerto Rico, United States of America.|Department of Basic Sciences, Division of Cancer Biology, Ponce Health Sciences University-School of Medicine, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce, Puerto Rico, United States of America.
authors.forename: Wanda
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Vargas
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Sciences, Division of Cancer Biology, Ponce Health Sciences University-School of Medicine, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce, Puerto Rico, United States of America.|Department of Basic Sciences, Division of Biochemistry, Ponce Health Sciences University-School of Medicine, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce, Puerto Rico, United States of America.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Casbas
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Sciences, Division of Cancer Biology, Ponce Health Sciences University-School of Medicine, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce, Puerto Rico, United States of America.|Department of Basic Sciences, Division of Biochemistry, Ponce Health Sciences University-School of Medicine, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce, Puerto Rico, United States of America.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dutil
authors.affiliation: Auxilio Mutuo Hospital, San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States of America.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Echenique
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States of America.
authors.forename: Erick
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Suárez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004260:DNA Repair; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010641:Phenotype; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone