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Prognostic relevance of ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) mRNA and protein expression in breast cancer patients

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Abstract

Purpose

The ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) belongs to the family of deubiquitinating enzymes. It is overexpressed in various tumour entities and associated with metastases formation in some solid tumours. However, only limited information about its role in breast cancer is available. The aim of this study was to examine the UCH-L1 expression in primary breast cancer and to determine its relevance as a potential prognostic marker.

Methods

We investigated both UCH-L1 mRNA expression in microarray data from 182 primary mammary carcinomas and UCH-L1 protein expression using a tissue microarray containing samples from 1,622 breast cancer patients.

Results

With both methods, high UCH-L1 expression correlated significantly with negative oestrogen receptor and progesterone receptor status and advanced tumour stage. Moreover by Kaplan–Meier analysis, high UCH-L1 mRNA and protein expression correlated with a significantly shorter overall survival.

Conclusion

The data of our study suggest that high levels of UCH-L1 expression indicate a more aggressive tumour behaviour and might represent a potential target in breast cancer treatment.

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Acknowledgments

We are thankful to Maike Maerker and Christine Knies for excellent technical assistance.

Conflict of interest

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gynaecology, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

    Christine Schröder, Karin Milde-Langosch & Volkmar Mueller

  2. Department of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

    Christine Schröder, Florian Gebauer, Katharina Schmid & Udo Schumacher

  3. STRATIFYER Molecular Pathology GmbH, Köln, Germany

    Ralph M. Wirtz

  4. Department of Internal Medicine, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

    Catherine Meyer-Schwesinger

  5. Department of Clinical Chemistry, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

    Hartmut Schlüter

  6. Institute of Pathology, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

    Guido Sauter

  7. Department of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Cancer Center Hamburg (UCCH), University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Building N62, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany

    Christine Schröder

Authors
  1. Christine Schröder
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Correspondence to Christine Schröder.

Additional information

Christine Schröder and Karin Milde-Langosch have contributed equally.

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Schröder, C., Milde-Langosch, K., Gebauer, F. et al. Prognostic relevance of ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) mRNA and protein expression in breast cancer patients. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 139, 1745–1755 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-013-1496-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-013-1496-z

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