Expression and correlation of high-mobility group box protein B1 and epidermal growth factor receptor in breast cancer
Wang Chaoqun1, Huang Bifei1, Wang Yan2, Li Xiaoni3, Hu Guinv4, Wang Qian1, Shao Junkang1
1Department of Pathology, Dongyang People's Hospital, Affiliated Dongyang Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Dongyang 322100, China; 2Department of Medical Oncology, Dongyang People's Hospital, Affiliated Dongyang Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Dongyang 322100, China; 3College of Life Science and Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China; 4Department of Surgical Oncology, Dongyang People's Hospital, Affiliated Dongyang Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Dongyang 322100, China
Abstract:Objective To investigate the expression and correlation of high-mobility group box protein B1 (HMGB1) and epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR) in breast cancer tissues and their effect on the prognosis of patients.Methods A total of 392 paraffin-embedded specimens of invasive breast cancer were collected from the Department of Pathology, Dongyang People's Hospital from 2007 to 2018. The patients were all female aged 26-90 years, with a median age of 52 years. The EnVision method was used to detect the expression of HMGB1 in the nucleus and cytoplasm and the expression of EGFR in the cell membrane. This immunohistochemistry technique was also used to observe the correlation between the expression of both proteins. In accordance with the nuclear and cytoplasmic HMGB1 status, breast cancer was categorized into four subtypes: nuclear low expression and cytoplasmic negative, nuclear high expression and cytoplasmic negative, nuclear low expression and cytoplasmic positive, and nuclear high expression and cytoplasmic positive. The expression of EGFR among the four groups was observed. The effects of the high expression levels of nuclear HMGB1 and positive EGFR and the positive rates of cytoplasmic HMGB1 and EGFR on the prognosis of patients were also observed.Results The high expression of nuclear HMGB1, the positive rate of cytoplasmic HMGB1, and the positive rate of EGFR were 80.1% (314/392), 15.1% (59/392), and 53.6% (210/392), respectively. The expression of EGFR was significantly higher in nuclear HMGB1 high-expression cases (56.1%, 176/314) than in nuclear low-expression cases (43.6%, 34/78, χ2 = 3.901, P<0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed a significant positive correlation between the nuclear HMGB1 high expression and the expression of EGFR (r= 0.100, P<0.05). The expression of EGFR was significantly higher in the cytoplasmic HMGB1 positive cases (66.1%, 39/59) than in the cytoplasmic negative cases (51.4%, 171/333, χ2=4.384, P<0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed that the HMGB1 cytoplasmic positive and the expression of EGFR were also significantly positively correlated (r=0.106, P<0.05). A total of 68, 265, 10, and 49 cases exhibited HMGB1 nuclear low expression/cytoplasmic negative, nuclear high expression and cytoplasmic negative, nuclear low expression and cytoplasmic positive, and nuclear high expression and cytoplasmic positive, respectively. The positive rates of EGFR in the four groups were 42.6% (29/68), 53.6% (142/265), 50.0% (5/10), and 69.4% (34/49), and the differences between the groups were statistically significant (χ2=8.242, P<0.05). Prognostic survival data were obtained in 235 of 392 breast cancer cases. The patients were followed up for 3-80 months, with an average of 60 months. Survival analysis showed that among the 235 patients, the 5-year cumulative survival rate was 90.6%, and the 5-year relapse-free cumulative survival rate was 81.3%. The 5-year relapse-free cumulative survival rate of patients with high expression of nuclear HMGB1 and positive EGFR was 75.2%, which was lower than that of other patients at 85.8%, and the difference was statistically significant (χ2=4.171, P<0.05). The 5-year cumulative survival rate of patients with high expression of nuclear HMGB1 and positive EGFR was 89.1% compared with that of the other patients at 91.8%, and the difference was not statistically significant (χ2=0.557, P>0.05). The 5-year cumulative and relapse-free cumulative survival rates of patients with positive cytoplasmic HMGB1 and EGFR were 72.2% and 83.3%, which were lower than those of the other patients at 82.0% and 91.2%, respectively. However, the differences were not statistically significant (χ2=1.070 and 1.307, respectively, all P values>0.05).Conclusions Nuclear and cytoplasmic HMGB1 were significantly positively correlated with the expression of EGFR, and the patients with high expression of nuclear or cytoplasmic HMGB1 and EGFR had lower 5-year relapse-free survival and overall survival than the other patients. Therefore, simultaneously inhibiting HMGB1 and EGFR may be a new potential strategy for breast cancer treatment.
王超群, 黄必飞, 王艳, 李晓妮, 胡桂女, 王倩, 邵俊康. 乳腺癌中高迁移率族蛋白B1和表皮生长因子受体1的表达及相关性研究[J]. 中华解剖与临床杂志, 2020, 25(5): 542-547.
Wang Chaoqun, Huang Bifei, Wang Yan, Li Xiaoni, Hu Guinv, Wang Qian, Shao Junkang. Expression and correlation of high-mobility group box protein B1 and epidermal growth factor receptor in breast cancer. Chinese Journal of Anatomy and Clinics, 2020, 25(5): 542-547.
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