Mayo Clinic Study Finds Two Genes Predict Outcome For Breast Cancer Patients

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060401104851.htm

Source: Mayo Clinic

Posted: April 1, 2006

Mayo Clinic Study Finds Two Genes Predict Outcome For

Breast Cancer Patients

Mayo Clinic researchers report that the expression of

two novel genes within the tumors of women with early

stage breast cancer may allow identification of women

who are and are not at risk for early relapse or

cancer-related death. Results of the study are

published in the April 1 issue of Clinical Cancer

Research.

" The HOXB13 and IL17BR gene profile was previously

discovered as a potential marker of relapse in

hormone-receptor positive breast cancer treated with

tamoxifen, " says Goetz, M.D., who co-led the

project with Ingle, M.D. and Fergus Couch, Ph.D.

" Our new study shows that the marker is only useful

for identifying women with a higher risk in the

setting of lymph node-negative breast cancer. "

The study, which was conducted by researchers at Mayo

Clinic, Harvard Medical School and Arcturus

Bioscience, tested whether the expression levels of

two genes within women with early stage breast cancer

affected the outcomes of women with estrogen

receptor-positive breast cancer. The research team

examined tissue from 206 postmenopausal women enrolled

in a prospective study conducted by the North Central

Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG). They tested the level

of gene expression of HOXB13 and IL17BR from

paraffin-embedded tumors and found that the 2-gene

expression ratio was an independent marker of early

breast cancer relapse or death in lymph node-negative

breast cancer.

" We believe that these findings are clinically

important and corroborate the accumulating laboratory

data which suggests that the HOXB13 gene is critically

involved in breast cancer metastases, " says Dr. Goetz.

" Further research is needed to determine whether more

aggressive or additional treatments will improve the

outcomes of women identified to be at high risk by

means of this marker. "

Breast cancer is diagnosed in approximately one

million women each year, and claims the lives of over

40,000 in the United States. More than two-thirds of

all breast cancers are hormone positive, and most of

these are early stage (lymph node-negative).

Other Mayo Clinic researchers involved with this study

(from the Rochester, Minn., and ville, Fla.,

sites) included: Vera Suman, Ph.D.; Nibbe;

Visscher, M.D.; Carol Reynolds, M.D.; Wilma

Lingle, Ph.D.; and Edith , M.D. They collaborated

with Dennis Sgroi, M.D., from Harvard Medical School;

and Mark Erlander, Ph.D., and Xiao-Jun Ma, Ph.D., both

from Arcturus Bioscience Inc., Mountain View, Calif.

This research was conducted in part through a National

Cancer Institute (NCI) SPORE grant -- Specialized

Programs of Research Excellence. In addition, it was

supported by the NCCTG, Arcturus Bioscience, Inc., and

additional grants from the NCI, the Department of

Defense, the G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

and the Avon Foundation.

For more information on breast cancer treatment at

Mayo Clinic, visit www.mayoclinic.org/breast-cancer.

To find out more about Mayo Clinic's cancer research,

visit http://cancercenter.mayo.edu. Information about

NCCTG can be found at http://ncctg.mayo.edu.