Beta 1 integrin predicts survival in breast cancer: a clinicopathological and immunohistochemical study

Through tissue microarray (TMA) slides containing 225 samples of IDC and 67 samples of DCIS, β1 integrin expression was related with several immunohistochemical markers and clinicopathologic features of prognostic significance.β1 integrin was overexpressed in 32.8% of IDC. In IDC, β1 integrin was related with HER-2 (p？=？0.019) and VEGF (p？=？0.011) expression and it had a significant relationship with metastasis and death (p？=？0.001 and p？=？0.05, respectively). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the overexpression of this protein is very significant (p？=？0.002) in specific survival (number of months between diagnosis and death caused by the disease). There were no correlation between IDC and DCIS (p？=？0.559) regarding β1 integrin expression.Considering that the expression of β1 integrin in breast cancer remains controversial, specially its relation with survival of patients, our findings provide further evidence that β1 integrin can be a marker of poor prognosis in breast cancer.The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/6652215267393871 webciteIntegrins are a family of transmembrane receptors. They are heterodimers composed by two subunits, α and β, which are non-covalently linked and depend of divalent cations [1]. A total of 18α and 8β subunits have been identified. These subunits combine to form 24 distinct heterodimers, however splice variants have been identified for some subunits and the number can reach at least 100 types [2,3]. These molecules can mediate intra and extracellular signals involved in the organization of cells, tissues and organs during development. Moreover they can directly or indirectly influence on many aspects of cell behavior, such adhesion, migration and proliferation. They also play a significant role in signal transduction events, such as gene expression and regulation of cell apoptosis [4,5].Invasive breast carcinoma is associated with a high mortality rate due to inv