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ERK1/2 is related to oestrogen receptor and predicts outcome in hormone-treated breast cancer

Breast Cancer Research and Treatment volume 147, pages 25–37 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

The extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 is one of the members of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). MAPKs are transduction proteins that play a role in controlling diverse cellular functions including proliferation and survival. In breast cancer (BC), MAPKs are involved in oestrogen receptor (ER) and HER2 pathways. This study aims to assess the biological and clinical significance of ERK1/2 protein expression in BC. Immunohistochemistry was used to assess the expression of both total (ERK1/2) and phospholyated (p ERK1/2) ERK1/2 proteins in a large and well-characterised series of early stage BC (n = 1300) using tissue microarray technology. ERK1/2 expression was cytoplasmic, while p-ERK1/2 was observed in the nucleus (N-p-ERK1/2) and/or cytoplasm (C-p-ERK1/2). Both ERK1/2 and p-ERK1/2 were positiviely associated with markers of good prognosis including smaller size, lower grade, expression of hormone receptor and ER-related proteins and negatively associated with HER2, HER4, KI67 and p53. Outcome analysis showed an association between N-p-ERK1/2 and better outcome. In tamoxifen-treated cases, ERK1/2 expression was an independent prognostic marker of longer survival. ERK1/2 and p-ERK1/2 were associated with good prognosis. Importantly, positivity of ERK1/2 is independently associated with better outcome in tamoxifen-treated cases.

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Acknowledgments

Dena A Jerjees is funded by the higher committee of educational development in Iraq.

Conflict of interest

None.

Ethical standards

This study was approved by the Nottingham Research Ethics Committee.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Histopathology and Divison of Cancer and Stem Cells, School of Medicine, The University of Nottingham and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham City Hospital, Nottingham, UK

    Dena A. Jerjees, Methaq Alkaabi, Rezvan Abduljabbar, Abir Muftah, Chris Nolan, Andrew R. Green, Ian O. Ellis & Emad A. Rakha

  2. Department of Pathology, Mosul School of Medicine, Mosul, Iraq

    Dena A. Jerjees

  3. Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Mosul, Iraq

    M. Alabdullah

Authors
  1. Dena A. Jerjees
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  2. M. Alabdullah
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  3. Methaq Alkaabi
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  4. Rezvan Abduljabbar
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  5. Abir Muftah
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  6. Chris Nolan
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  9. Emad A. Rakha
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Correspondence to Dena A. Jerjees.

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Jerjees, D.A., Alabdullah, M., Alkaabi, M. et al. ERK1/2 is related to oestrogen receptor and predicts outcome in hormone-treated breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat 147, 25–37 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-014-3066-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-014-3066-8

Keywords

  • Breast carcinoma
  • Molecular features
  • MAPK/ERK pathway
  • Immunohistochemistry