Identification of a Subtype of Poorly Differentiated Invasive Ductal Carcinoma of the Breast Based on Vimentin and E-cadherin Expression

Abstract

Objective The use of molecular markers can identify a subgroup of tumors with distinct recurrence patterns. The present study aimed to characterize the immunohistochemical expression of vimentin (VIM), of E-cadherin (CDH1), and of cytokeratin 5 (CK5) in patients with invasive ductal carcinomas (IDCs). Methods We have constructed a tissue microarray (TMA) from 87 patients with IDC of the breast. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed to study the expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER and PgR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), VIM, CDH1, CK5, and Ki67. The tumors were classified as luminal A and B (n = 39), HER2 enriched (n = 25), and triple-negative (TNBC) (n = 23), based on the IHC expression. Results We have observed that luminal A and B tumors lack the VIM+/CDH1-/low phenotype. This phenotype was observed in 16.5% of the HER2+ tumors and in 60% of the TNBC tumors (p = 0.0001). Out of a total of 20 TNBC tumors, the CK5 (basal-like marker) was positive in 11 of them. The VIM+/CDH1-/low phenotype was observed in 5 CK5+ TNBC tumors (45%) and in 7 out of 9 CK5- TNBC tumors (78%) (p = 0.02). The median Ki67 index in the VIM+/CDH1-/low tumors was 13.6 (range: 17.8–45.4) compared with 9.8 (range: 4.1–38.1) in other tumors (p = 0.0007). The presence of lymph node metastasis was less frequent in patients with VIM+/CDH1-/low tumors (23% versus 61%; X2 test; p = 0.01). Conclusion Our findings suggest that the expression of VIM and CDH1 can identify a subset of IDCs of the breast with a mesenchymal phenotype associated with poor prognosis, high-grade lesion, and high mitotic index.

Loss of Pancreatic E-Cadherin Causes Pancreatitis-Like Changes and Contributes to Carcinogenesis

“…Another question is whether E-cadherin deletion in tumors causes EMT or a histologically undifferentiated phenotype. In gastric cancer and breast cancer, Cdh1 -deficient tumors often become poorly differentiated tissue 8 , 41 . In the present study, allografts of Cdh1 -deficient and Kras mutational tumors showed a tissue type similar to undifferentiated pancreatic cancer.…”

The LQB-223 Compound Modulates Antiapoptotic Proteins and Impairs Breast Cancer Cell Growth and Migration

“…Although some studies have shown that vimentin expression is a marker for poor prognosis [36], others have reported that its high expression can sensitize triple-negative breast cancer in vitro and in vivo to the c-Src inhibitor (dasatinib) [37,38]. Moreover, depletion of vimentin mitigates the c-Src inhibitory effects, suggesting that vimentin plays a role in the regulation of c-Src [38,39].…”