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Predictive value of microtubule-associated protein Tau in patients with recurrent and metastatic breast cancer treated with taxane-containing palliative chemotherapy

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Tumor Biology

Abstract

Tau is a member of microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) and expressed in normal breast epithelium and breast cancer cells. Tau expression levels in early breast cancer were correlated with the responsiveness of taxane-containing chemotherapy. However, it is unknown whether Tau contributes to breast cancer progression. Herein, Tau expression in recurrent and metastatic breast cancer (RMBC) and its predictive significance in taxane-containing palliative chemotherapy were investigated. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining was conducted to detect Tau protein expression levels in biopsies from 285 patients with RMBC, and the correlation between Tau expression and sensitivity to taxane was evaluated. One hundred twety-one (42.46 %, 121/285) patients were Tau positive in their tumor. One hundred ninety-four (68.07 %, 194/285) patients were effective clinical remission, which evaluated with response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST) criteria. In this group, 141 (85.98 %, 141/194) patients were Tau negative. We further analyzed the correlation between Tau expression and clinicopathological characteristics. Tau expression was positively correlated to estrogen receptor (ER) status. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that Tau expression significantly differentiated patients with effective response to treatment (95 % confidence interval (CI): 4.230–13.88, P < 0.01). Tau expression was identified as an independent factor to predict the sensitivity of tumors to taxane-containing palliative chemotherapy in RMBC, suggesting that Tau expression in RMBC may serve as a clinical predictor for taxane-containing palliative chemotherapy.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Guangzhou Health Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (grant no. 20121A011166).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Center, Traditional Chinese Medicine-Integrated Hospital, Southern Medical University, No. 13, ShiLiuGang Road, HaiZhu, Guangzhou, 510315, Guangdong, China

    Jie Zhou & Rongcheng Luo

  2. Department of Breast Oncology, Cancer Center of Guangzhou Medical University, NO. 78, HengZhiGang Road, Yue**u, Guangzhou, 510095, Guangdong, China

    Jie Zhou, Hongsheng Li, Weixing He, Guodong Han & Guiquan Chen

  3. Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, NO. 250, ChangGang Middle Road, Haizhu, Guangzhou, 510260, Guangdong, China

    Shikun Qian

  4. Department of Pathology, Cancer Center of Guangzhou Medical University, NO. 78, HengZhiGang Road, Yue**u, Guangzhou, 510095, Guangdong, China

    **aojun Tan & Qiong Zhang

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  1. Jie Zhou
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Correspondence to Rongcheng Luo.

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The authors Jie Zhou and Shikun Qian contributed equally to this work.

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Zhou, J., Qian, S., Li, H. et al. Predictive value of microtubule-associated protein Tau in patients with recurrent and metastatic breast cancer treated with taxane-containing palliative chemotherapy. Tumor Biol. 36, 3941–3947 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-015-3037-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-015-3037-7

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