Original scientific paper

https://doi.org/10.20471/acc.2021.60.01.03

Prognostic Value of Topoisomerase 2-Alpha and B-Myb in Early Breast Cancer Treated with Adjuvant Chemotherapy

Ljubica Radmilović Varga orcid.org/0000-0002-7773-282X ; Department of Pulmonology, Varaždin General Hospital, Klenovnik, Croatia
Natalija Dedić Plavetić orcid.org/0000-0003-0505-4756 ; Department of Oncology, Division of Medical Oncology, Zagreb University Hospital Centre, Zagreb, Croatia; School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Paula Podolski ; Department of Oncology, Division of Medical Oncology, Zagreb University Hospital Centre, Zagreb, Croatia
Davor Mijatović ; School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia; Department of Surgery, Zagreb University Hospital Centre, Zagreb, Croatia
Ana Kulić ; Department of Pathophysiology, Zagreb University Hospital Centre, Zagreb, Croatia
Damir Vrbanec ; Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, Pula, Croatia

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in females. Despite its well-established
prognostic factors, our prognostic ability at an individual patient level remains limited. In this
study, the immunohistochemical expression of B-Myb and DNA topoisomerase 2-alpha (Topo2a)
was analyzed in primary tumors to identify patients with a higher risk of disease recurrence after adjuvant
chemotherapy for early invasive breast cancer. We analyzed a cohort of 215 early invasive breast
cancer patients having undergone surgery from 2002 to 2003 at the Zagreb University Hospital Centre,
including 153 patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy. All of them were followed-up prospectively
for at least ten years according to routine institutional practice. Statistically significant correlations
were found between B-Myb and Topo2a expression levels and particular well-established
prognostic factors. B-Myb expression was lower in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive tumors (p=0.0773),
whereas larger tumors and those with positive lymphovascular invasion displayed a statistically significantly
higher B-Myb expression (p=0.0409 and p=0.0196). Higher tumor grade indicated higher
Topo2a values (p=0.0102 and p=0.0069). The subgroup with the expression of both proteins above the
median value had an almost statistically significantly (p=0.0613) inferior prognosis compared to the
rest of the cohort. Study results showed the B-Myb and Topo2a expression to have a prognostic value
in breast cancer patients after adjuvant chemotherapy, which should be additionally explored in future
studies in a larger patient cohort.

Keywords

Breast cancer, prognosis, outcome; Adjuvant chemotherapy; B-Myb; Topo2a

Hrčak ID:

259815

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/259815

Publication date:

1.3.2021.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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