Higher human kallikrein 10 levels in breast cancer predict tamoxifen resistance
Author Information
Author(s): Luo L-Y, Diamandis E P, Look M P, Soosaipillai A P, Foekens J A
Primary Institution: Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
Hypothesis
Human kallikrein 6 and human kallikrein 10 may have a role as prognostic or predictive markers for breast cancer.
Conclusion
Higher levels of human kallikrein 10 are associated with a poor response to tamoxifen therapy in breast cancer patients.
Supporting Evidence
- Higher human kallikrein 10 levels were significantly related to a short progression-free and post-relapse overall survival after starting tamoxifen treatment.
- Human kallikrein 10 was found to be an independent predictive marker for response to tamoxifen therapy.
- Patients with higher levels of human kallikrein 10 had a lower response rate to tamoxifen treatment.
Takeaway
This study found that high levels of a protein called human kallikrein 10 in breast cancer tissue can help predict if a patient will not respond well to a common treatment called tamoxifen.
Methodology
The study measured human kallikrein 6 and human kallikrein 10 levels in breast tumor cytosolic extracts and correlated these levels with clinicopathological variables and patient outcomes.
Limitations
The study did not include inoperable T4 tumors and excluded patients who had neoadjuvant treatment or distant metastasis at the time of primary surgery.
Participant Demographics
The median age of patients was 55 years, with 306 pre-menopausal and 412 post-menopausal patients.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Confidence Interval
95% CI, 0.23-0.94
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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