Nuclear NF-kappa B/p65 expression and response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer

作者：Jones Robin L; Rojo Federico; A'Hern Roger; Villena Nadia; Salter Janine; Maria Corominas Josep; Servitja Sonia; Smith Ian E; Rovira Ana; Reis Filho Jorge S; Dowsett Mitchell; Albanell Joan^*

来源：Journal of Clinical Pathology, 2011, 64(2): 130-135.

DOI：10.1136/jcp.2010.082966

Aims To evaluate the clinicopathological associations and predictive value of the transcription factor NF-kappa B in a large series of breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Methods A retrospective search of a prospectively maintained database was performed to identify patients. Immunohistochemistry was used to assess the p65 subunit of NF-kappa B, using nuclear staining as a surrogate of activation.
Results Nuclear NF-kappa B expression was found in 26.3% (35/133) of cases. Nuclear NF-kappa B staining was associated with high histological grade (p=0.05), oestrogen receptor (ER) negativity (p=0.01) and higher Ki67 index (p=0.002). Patients with nuclear NF-kappa B staining had a higher pathological complete response (pCR) rate than those without (26.5% vs 6.0% respectively, p=0.004); there was no significant association with clinical response or outcome. In an exploratory hypothesis-generating analysis, in the ER+/HER2- subgroup (n=43) a significantly lower clinical response rate was observed in those with nuclear NF-kappa B staining compared with those who had no nuclear NF-kappa B staining (14.3% vs 61.0%, p=0.038). There were no pCRs in ER+/HER2- tumours.
Conclusions Nuclear NF-kappa B expression is associated with ER negativity, higher Ki67 index and tumour grade. It was also found to be significantly associated with increased pCR but not clinical response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

• 出版日期2011-2