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Phosphorylated S6K1 is a possible marker for endocrine therapy resistance in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer

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Abstract

Cross-talk between the estrogen receptor and the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is one of the mechanisms of endocrine therapy resistance, and the phosphorylated S6 kinase 1(p-S6K1) is known to be a marker of the mTOR pathway activation. The authors assessed the prognostic significance of p-S6K1 according to the hormone receptor (HR) status. The expression of p-S6K1 was evaluated in 304 breast cancer tissues, and the association between its expression and patient outcomes was investigated. Among 197 cases with the HR (+) tumor, 70 (35.5%) were positive for p-S6K1. Most of the patients (97.5%) with the HR (+) tumor received adjuvant endocrine therapy. The expression of p-S6K1 was found to be an independent worse prognosticator affecting overall survival (OS) and breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) in the HR (+) group (hazard ratio, 2.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19–5.76; P = 0.017 and hazard ratio, 3.25; 95% CI, 1.20–8.82; P = 0.020, respectively). In the HR (−) group, however, the p-S6K1 expression was not associated with patients’ survival. The expression of p-S6K1 is a worse prognostic factor in patients with HR (+) tumors. These results suggest that the p-S6K1 expression might be a marker for endocrine therapy resistance in patients with HR (+) tumors.

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Acknowledgments

This research has been supported by Korea Breast Cancer Foundation (KBCF2009-ST-S1-001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, 215-4 Gongneung-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul, 139-706, Korea

    Eun-Kyu Kim, Hyun-Ah Kim, Kwan-Il Kim, Jong Inn Lee & Woo Chul Noh

  2. Department of Pathology, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul, Korea

    Jae Soo Koh

  3. Department of Pathology, Dongnam Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Busan, Korea

    Min Suk Kim

  4. Department of Surgery, Dongnam Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Busan, Korea

    Nan Mo Moon & Eunyoung Ko

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  1. Eun-Kyu Kim
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Correspondence to Woo Chul Noh.

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Kim, EK., Kim, HA., Koh, J.S. et al. Phosphorylated S6K1 is a possible marker for endocrine therapy resistance in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat 126, 93–99 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-010-1315-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-010-1315-z

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