AIMS: The majority of all breast cancers are hormone responsive, traditionally defined by the expression of oestrogen receptor (ER) alpha and/or progesterone receptors. In contrast to ERalpha, the clinical significance of the relatively recently identified ERbeta is still unclear. This study aimed to define the relationship between ERbeta and clinicopathological parameters in a mixed cohort of breast cancer and, furthermore, to investigate the impact of ERbeta expression on disease outcome. METHODS: The immunohistochemical expression of ERalpha and ERbeta was analysed in tissue microarrays containing a total number of 512 tumours with all incident breast cancers diagnosed at the Malmö University Hospital between 1988 and 1992. RESULTS: 78% of the tumours were ERalpha positive and 50% were ERbeta positive. ERbeta correlated positively with ERalpha (p = 0.001). In contrast to ERalpha, ERbeta was not associated with any important clinicopathological variables. Furthermore, no overall prognostic significance could be demonstrated for ERbeta. In the ERalpha-positive subgroup, however, a low expression of ERbeta correlated with a decreased disease-free survival in patients receiving endocrine treatment (p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Although interrelated, ERalpha and ERbeta seem to be differentially associated to clinicopathological parameters, and this would support the fact that they might have different functions in vivo. Furthermore, ERbeta might be a predictive marker of response to endocrine therapy, although this needs to be confirmed in additional studies, preferably randomised trials.
AIMS: The majority of all breast cancers are hormone responsive, traditionally defined by the expression of oestrogen receptor (ER) alpha and/or progesterone receptors. In contrast to ERalpha, the clinical significance of the relatively recently identified ERbeta is still unclear. This study aimed to define the relationship between ERbeta and clinicopathological parameters in a mixed cohort of breast cancer and, furthermore, to investigate the impact of ERbeta expression on disease outcome. METHODS: The immunohistochemical expression of ERalpha and ERbeta was analysed in tissue microarrays containing a total number of 512 tumours with all incident breast cancers diagnosed at the Malmö University Hospital between 1988 and 1992. RESULTS: 78% of the tumours were ERalpha positive and 50% were ERbeta positive. ERbeta correlated positively with ERalpha (p = 0.001). In contrast to ERalpha, ERbeta was not associated with any important clinicopathological variables. Furthermore, no overall prognostic significance could be demonstrated for ERbeta. In the ERalpha-positive subgroup, however, a low expression of ERbeta correlated with a decreased disease-free survival in patients receiving endocrine treatment (p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Although interrelated, ERalpha and ERbeta seem to be differentially associated to clinicopathological parameters, and this would support the fact that they might have different functions in vivo. Furthermore, ERbeta might be a predictive marker of response to endocrine therapy, although this needs to be confirmed in additional studies, preferably randomised trials.
Authors: Catharina Hagerling; Hugo Gonzalez; Kiarash Salari; Chih-Yang Wang; Charlene Lin; Isabella Robles; Merel van Gogh; Annika Dejmek; Karin Jirström; Zena Werb Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2019-10-07 Impact factor: 11.205
Authors: Signe Borgquist; Annika Jögi; Fredrik Pontén; Lisa Rydén; Donal J Brennan; Karin Jirström Journal: Breast Cancer Res Date: 2008-09-22 Impact factor: 6.466
Authors: Fiona Lanigan; Gabriela Gremel; Rowena Hughes; Donal J Brennan; Finian Martin; Karin Jirström; William M Gallagher Journal: Breast Cancer Res Date: 2010-08-03 Impact factor: 6.466
Authors: E Englund; M Bartoschek; B Reitsma; L Jacobsson; A Escudero-Esparza; A Orimo; K Leandersson; C Hagerling; A Aspberg; P Storm; M Okroj; H Mulder; K Jirström; K Pietras; A M Blom Journal: Oncogene Date: 2016-04-11 Impact factor: 9.867