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Immunohistochemical BAG1 expression improves the estimation of residual risk by IHC4 in postmenopausal patients treated with anastrazole or tamoxifen: a TransATAC study

Breast Cancer Research and Treatment volume 140, pages 253–262 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

BAG1 is a multifunctional anti-apoptotic protein located on chromosome 9q12, which binds to Bcl-2. BAG1 is present as a separate module in the GHI-RS 21-gene panel. It may provide additional prognostic information as an immunohistochemical marker when added to IHC4. Analysis of BAG1 was performed on archival tumour blocks from patients from the anastrozole and tamoxifen arms of the ATAC trial of 5 years endocrine therapy in postmenopausal women with oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive primary breast cancer. Staining was scored separately as nuclear or cytoplasmic. Statistical analyses were performed on data from median 10-year follow-up with distant recurrence as primary endpoint. Data on both nuclear and cytoplasmic BAG1 as well as the IHC4 markers (ER, PgR, HER2 and Ki67) were available on 963 ER-positive cases of which 860 were HER2-negative. Cytoplasmic and nuclear BAG1 were highly correlated (Spearman r = 0.79, p < 00001). Women with higher BAG1 expression developed 30 % fewer distant recurrences compared to those with low expression. Nuclear BAG1 contributed significantly to the clinical and IHC4 models with added information being greater in node-positive cases. Similar results were seen if all recurrences were the endpoints. BAG1 expression provides significant prognostic information when added to the classical clinicopathological parameters and IHC4, particularly in node-positive patients.

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Acknowledgments

This study is supported by the Royal Marsden National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre, Cancer Research UK Programme Grant No: C569-10404, and Grants from Breakthrough Breast Cancer and AstraZeneca. The authors are grateful to Professor Michael Baum for his guidance and advice throughout the ATAC trial.

Disclosures

JC receives trial support and sits on an advisory board for AstraZeneca. MD has received lecture fees and research grants from AstraZeneca in the last 2 years. All remaining authors have declared no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Academic Biochemistry, The Royal Marsden Hospital, Fulham Road, London, SW3 6JJ, UK

    Maria Afentakis, Mitch Dowsett & Janine Salter

  2. Wolfson Institute of Prevention Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse, London, EC1M 6BQ, UK

    Ivana Sestak & Jack Cuzick

  3. Department of Medical Oncology, School of Cancer and Enabling Science, Christie Hospital NHS Trust, Wilmslow Road, Manchester, M20 4BX, UK

    Tony Howell

  4. MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Aman Buzdar

  5. School of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callagen, NSW, 2308, Australia

    John Forbes

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  1. Maria Afentakis
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  2. Mitch Dowsett
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  3. Ivana Sestak
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  8. Jack Cuzick
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Correspondence to Maria Afentakis.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

10549_2013_2628_MOESM1_ESM.xls

Supplementary Table 1: Univariate and multivariate analysis of cytoplasmic and nuclear BAG1 (considered as positive or negative). (XLS 26 kb)

10549_2013_2628_MOESM2_ESM.xlsx

Supplementary Table 2: Univariate and multivariate analysis of cytoplasmic and nuclear BAG1 (considered as positive or negative). (XLSX 41 kb)

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Afentakis, M., Dowsett, M., Sestak, I. et al. Immunohistochemical BAG1 expression improves the estimation of residual risk by IHC4 in postmenopausal patients treated with anastrazole or tamoxifen: a TransATAC study. Breast Cancer Res Treat 140, 253–262 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-013-2628-5

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Keywords

  • BAG1
  • Breast cancer
  • TransATAC study
  • Distance recurrence
  • IHC4