ESR1 and PGR polymorphisms are associated with estrogen and progesterone receptor expression in breast tumors

Date
2016-09-01
Language
American English
Embargo Lift Date
Committee Members
Degree
Degree Year
Department
Grantor
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Found At
American Physiological Society
Abstract

Hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancers express the estrogen (ERα) and/or progesterone (PgR) receptors. Inherited single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ESR1, the gene encoding ERα, have been reported to predict tamoxifen effectiveness. We hypothesized that these associations could be attributed to altered tumor gene/protein expression of ESR1/ERα and that SNPs in the PGR gene predict tumor PGR/PgR expression. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded breast cancer tumor specimens were analyzed for ESR1 and PGR gene transcript expression by the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction based Oncotype DX assay and for ERα and PgR protein expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and an automated quantitative immunofluorescence assay (AQUA). Germline genotypes for SNPs in ESR1 (n = 41) and PGR (n = 8) were determined by allele-specific TaqMan assays. One SNP in ESR1 (rs9322336) was significantly associated with ESR1 gene transcript expression (P = 0.006) but not ERα protein expression (P > 0.05). A PGR SNP (rs518162) was associated with decreased PGR gene transcript expression (P = 0.003) and PgR protein expression measured by IHC (P = 0.016), but not AQUA (P = 0.054). There were modest, but statistically significant correlations between gene and protein expression for ESR1/ERα and PGR/PgR and for protein expression measured by IHC and AQUA (Pearson correlation = 0.32–0.64, all P < 0.001). Inherited ESR1 and PGR genotypes may affect tumor ESR1/ERα and PGR/PgR expression, respectively, which are moderately correlated. This work supports further research into germline predictors of tumor characteristics and treatment effectiveness, which may someday inform selection of hormonal treatments for patients with HR+ breast cancer.

Description
item.page.description.tableofcontents
item.page.relation.haspart
Cite As
Hertz, D. L., Henry, N. L., Kidwell, K. M., Thomas, D., Goddard, A., Azzouz, F., … Rae, J. M. (2016). ESR1 and PGR polymorphisms are associated with estrogen and progesterone receptor expression in breast tumors. Physiological Genomics, 48(9), 688–698. https://doi.org/10.1152/physiolgenomics.00065.2016
ISSN
1094-8341
Publisher
Series/Report
Sponsorship
Major
Extent
Identifier
Relation
Journal
Physiological Genomics
Rights
Publisher Policy
Source
PMC
Alternative Title
Type
Article
Number
Volume
Conference Dates
Conference Host
Conference Location
Conference Name
Conference Panel
Conference Secretariat Location
Version
Final published version
This item is under embargo {{howLong}}