Markers of steroid receptor, kinase signalling pathways and Ki-67 expression in relation to tamoxifen sensitivity and resistance

Campbell, Christine; Mathew, John; Ellis, Ian O.; Bradbury, Ian; Borgquist, Signe; Elebro, Karin; Green, Andrew R.; Finlay, Pauline; Gee, Julia M. W.; Robertson, John F. R.

Abstract

Background: It remains clinically important to identify ER positive breast cancers likely to respond to tamoxifen (TAM) and so we aimed to select a group of biomarkers able to predict response. We also assessed whether data from different sample types [tumor microarrays (TMAs) and core biopsies] or tumor sites could be combined for biomarker studies.

Methods: A total of 123 endocrine treatment naïve patients with known ER and HER2 status treated with TAM had paraffin-embedded tumor tissue available either as TMAs (n=102) or core biopsies (n=21). TMA cores were collected from three different tumor sites, two central and one peripheral. Ten biomarkers were evaluated by immunohistochemistry, for % positivity and/or H-Score, comprising: ER, HER2, Ki-67, phosphorylated forms of ER (Ser118), IGF1R, PRAS40, Akt & MAPK (ERK1/2), and PTEN & androgen receptor expression (AR). Each tumor was analysed for Akt1 E17K somatic mutation using BEAMing technology. Patient outcome was assessed by clinical benefit (CB) rate & survival analyses [time to progression (TTP) and time to death (TTD)].

Results: There was no significant difference in % positivity or H-Score between central & peripheral tumor sites for all biomarkers examined. After False Discovery Rate (FDR) correction differences (P less than 0.05) were observed between the two central samples only for HER2 & pER118 and pPRAS40. However, differences in biomarker expression were common between core biopsies and TMAs. Only 2/123 (1.6%) tumors had Akt1 E17K mutations. Univariate and multivariate analyses identified that lower levels of PTEN and higher levels of Ki-67 (% positivity) were predictive of poor outcome (TTP & TTD) following TAM. Higher ER. lower Ki-67 and AR/ER ratio less than 2 predicted increased CB rate.

Conclusions: There were few differences in marker expression between TMAs from different intra-tumoral sites. More marked differences between TMAs and core biopsies suggest caution if combining such datasets. Loss of PTEN, a key regulator of the PI3K/Akt pathway, was the only RTK/kinase signaling biomarker related to poorer clinical outcome. PTEN along with ER & lower Ki-67 proved the most predictive markers for better outcome (TTP & TTD and/or CBR) following TAM treatment.

Citation

Campbell, C., Mathew, J., Ellis, I. O., Bradbury, I., Borgquist, S., Elebro, K., …Robertson, J. F. R. (2020). Markers of steroid receptor, kinase signalling pathways and Ki-67 expression in relation to tamoxifen sensitivity and resistance. Translational Breast Cancer Research, 1, Article 29. https://doi.org/10.21037/tbcr-20-31

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 14, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Oct 31, 2020
• Publication Date: Oct 31, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jun 22, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 22, 2021
• Journal: Translational Breast Cancer Research
• Electronic ISSN: 2218-6778
• Publisher: AME Publishing Company
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 1
• Article Number: 29
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.21037/tbcr-20-31
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5718695
• Publisher URL: https://tbcr.amegroups.com/article/view/45812/html